http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/288839661.html
Thanks to Steve Brandt for this latest article on the Pipe draining millions of
gallons of phosphate rich ground water into the Chain of Lakes via the Lagoon
between Calhoun and Isles. The agreement focuses on significant damages to
city property but, according to this article, the Park Board is only claiming
estimated damages to park amenities, ie: the Lakes water quality and ecological
health, as $32,000!
If the estimates that 75 pounds of phosphate per year have been dumped into the
lakes since the dewatering permit was in effect for construction starting in
late 2009/2010--then we have had approximately 300 pounds of phosphate
impacting the lakes as a result of this improperly built development. How/if
that amount of fertilizer being dumped into the lakes can be remediated is an
open question. But the cumulative damage to the Calhoun and Isles ecosystem is
a big deal-- especially since park science staff previously cited this portion
of Lake Calhoun as the most biodiverse (in terms of invertebrates) section of
perhaps the entire park system (see previous postings on this).
How do you quantify this? And $32,000 could easily be seen as just another
cost of doing business around sensitive ecosystems that can command high rents
and a big payoff. I hope we hear more from the Park Board on their rationale
and more hints on how they plan to move forward in their separate lawsuit.
I am grateful to the City for taking the long view in pursuing damages and
ending this irresponsible situation. Legal action was initiated jointly by the
City and the Park Board under the leadership of Anita Tabb and Meg Tuthill.
Thanks to CM Goodman and CM Bender for bringing this situation to an end and
for keeping the surrounding neighborhoods updated. Speaking for East Calhoun,
we take our proximity to the Lakes as a serious responsibility and try to do
our part to protect them for us and future generations. This whole situation
has been very demoralizing. The lesson: One development can do a lot of damage
to public amenities.
There are still some outstanding issues. How did this pipe end up illegally
pumping this water into the lakes for months without being caught? What
policies/practices will/have changed to make sure this will not happen again?
It seems like this situation indicates holes in regulating authority/practices
that need to be fixed. The lakes are too important to be left to chance or the
real estate market.
And while the signal that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated is
important, other signals may send a different message. This same developer is
now proposing another development next to 1800 Lake that will include another
parking structure (above the water table) that will provide 28 parking spots
for the 1800 Lake renters to replace the parking lost to ground water under
this court settlement. I have to admit I have very mixed feelings about this.
On the one hand, the renters will appreciate this parking being replaced. It
is not their fault that the developer violated rules. But, on the other hand,
is it the city's job to "fix" this situation created by the developer? What
message does this send? We do not want a repeat of this situation on any of
the lakes. What needs to happen?
Curious what other people think...