Public Comment Form

Commenting open: June 28, 2024 12:00AM CT - July 09, 2024 11:59PM CT.

Benton County (County Road 7 reconstruction) - 401 Water Quality Certification

We invite you to comment on the draft 401 Water Quality Certification for the County State Aid Highway 7 reconstruction project in Benton County. 


The Benton County Department of Public Works proposes to reconstruct 5.1 miles of County Road 7 near Foley to increase safety and bring the corridor into compliance with Minnesota’s state-aid standards. The project will increase the width of the shoulders, right-of-way, and clear zones; adjust grading on either side of the road; and replace culverts at seven tributaries, all of which are ditches in the county’s public drainage system and drain into the St. Francis River.


The proposed project will permanently fill 10.60 acres of wetlands and impact 676 linear feet of eight tributaries, temporarily impact 3.21 acres of wetlands, and convert 0.53 acres to wetlands due to clearing and grubbing of trees. The Benton County Department of Public Works will mitigate the wetland impacts with the purchase of wetland credits through the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources’s Local Government Road Wetland Replacement Program.


A 401 Water Quality Certification is required when an individual, business, or property owner proposes construction-related activities near a navigable lake, river, stream, or adjacent wetland. The MPCA reviews projects to ensure they will not violate Minnesota's more protective water quality standards. The 401 certification becomes an enforceable component of the associated federal license or permits issued under the Clean Water Act.



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Your Comment


Thank you for providing feedback on this project.


We value your comments and will use them to assess this project further. In your comments, please state your interest in the draft 401 certification; the explicit actions you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to the section of the draft permit you believe should be changed; and the reasons supporting your position, stated with sufficient specificity as to allow the MPCA to investigate the merits of the position.


If you want to submit a letter, you can upload the letter on this website or submit it via US Mail to the following address:


Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
c/o Tim Schwarz
520 Lafayette Road
Saint Paul, MN 55155

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You may attach up to five 20 MB files to accompany your submission. Allowed formats are pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, gif, doc, docx, xlsx, xls. If you experience technical difficulties submitting your comment please contact the person listed at the bottom of this page.


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