09.c1 Engineering Updates 1-17-2023
City of Scandia
Engineering Updates 1/17/2023
Engineering italics = old information
· 2022 Street Improvement Project (Melanie Trail N and 238th Street N)
Wear Paving was completed on 9/8 on 238th Street and 9/12 on Melanie Trail N. Shouldering will
take place in the afternoon on 9/15 or 9/16 depending on contractor’s schedule. Striping is not yet
scheduled.
All punchlist items have been completed apart from a final restoration inspection in spring 2023, and
potential pavement maintenance on small portion of Melanie Trail near the southern most crossing
culvert if necessary, after inspection. Watershed punchlist items have also been completed.
December pay application to be a part of the next council meeting agenda. This will include
full payment of all construction work for the year, while withholding 3% retainage.
· Pay application #4 was signed/approved by the city on 12/30/2022 and completes
payment for all quantities apart from retainage on this project.
Restoration Punchlist is to be checked in the Spring.
Watershed Punchlist items have been completed and approved by the CLFLWD.
A final pavement inspection will take place in the Spring to determine if corrective action is
required on a small portion of Melanie Trail towards the South end.
Final Pay Application will be completed in the Spring once all punchlist items have been
completed.
· 2023 Street Improvement Project
City Council authorized Plans & Specifications for the 2023 Street Improvement Project at the August
16th City Council Meeting.
Water resources has been provided with areas of potential wetland impacts and they are planning to
perform the necessary wetland delineations in mid-October to begin permitting process.
Coordination with the Watershed District will begin upon completing the inspections of culverts and
once scope of project is more refined.
Crossing and driveway culvert inspections have been completed, and wetland delineation was
completed on site October 13th. Coordination with the Watershed will progress next week once
delineation line work has been produced.
Wetland delineation has been completed and obtaining permits is currently in progress.
Project limits and scope of work were sent to CMSCWD. An updated plan set was sent to the
watershed for comments on Monday, December 5th.
Plans/Specs are in progress and we will review with Public Works on November 22nd to go over state
of the project and get the City’s input. Another plan/spec discussion meeting was held with Public
Works on December 7th to go over the latest plan set/specs.
City Council approved plans and specifications and authorized ad for bid at the December 20th City
Council Meeting.
Washington County ROW permit has been obtained. Only remaining item for this permit is
to have the contractor fill out a registration form for Washington County once the project
has been awarded.
CMSCWD Permit Application has been submitted for review/approval at the January 11th
meeting.
Ad for Bid was run in the Finance and Commerce and Country Messenger on December
28th, 2022; and will run a 2nd time on January 18th, 2023.
Plans and Specs were posted to QuestCDN on December 30th, 2022.
Bid Opening is scheduled for January 25th at 9:00am.
· Bliss Drainfield System
Both the 2020 permit application for this system and the “final report” for nitrogen mitigation have
been completed and submitted to the MPCA. The memo which serves as a final report doesn’t
present final solutions for the nitrogen issue, but instead outlines the issues that have been found
and solved in this treatment system, as well as some additional testing that will now be
recommended to get a handle on the nitrogen, BOD, and TSS entering and leaving the facility. The
hope is to gain us a little more time from the MPCA before they mandate action. We’ll use this time
to perform the aforementioned testing and evaluate options for removing nitrogen at Bliss.
City received on February 22, 2021 a Pre-Public Notice Review of Draft Permit - Bliss Collector WWTP
(#MN0054119) that also included a statement of basis outlining any changes or new requirements to
the draft permit. This 30 day pre-public notice review period starts on February 22, 2021 and ends on
March 24, 2021. Once your pre-public notice review is complete the draft SDS permit will be placed
on public notice for 60 days.
· First thing that needs to be done is complete a Facility Evaluation Report within 180 days of
issuance of the new permit they requested. Based on the report, MPCA will then ask the City
to follow either Track 1 or Track 2. Track one is the new monitoring well. Track two is a
facility upgrade. There are a few other changes to the permit, they include some additional
monitoring required over this permit. Also, MPCA is requesting flow monitoring at WS 004,
WS 005 and WS 006. These are to each of the infiltration trenches. We are in the pre-public
draft notice stage where just the City received these draft documents and can
comment. We can review and suggest changes or modifications prior to March 24th.
· Current updates: Under track 1, the requirement to abandon GW 008 is included because
using this well for monitoring is problematic, since we have no information on the well’s
construction nor well boring records. Based on the limited information we do have, it is the
opinion of MPCA hydrologist, Steven Stark, that this well is too deep to be used as a
monitoring well and may be sampling a confined aquifer. All monitoring wells should be
sampling the surficial aquifer and have well screens that bisect the watertable.
· The justification for proposed timeline is sufficient and the new timeline will be incorporated
into the draft permit. Shown below (last page of this report) is a revised compliance
schedule. Flow monitoring requirements at WS 004, WS 005, and WS 006 will become
effective upon installation of the flow monitoring equipment. The permit will continue to
the 60-day Public Notice period.
The final permit has been issued. The assumption is that we’ll end up on Track 2, with required
system improvements due to the nitrate issue. Only thing that needs to take place in the next 6
months (February 28, 2022) is for new flow meters to be installed at the system, something we’ll
begin working on. At the one year mark (September 1, 2022), we’ll need to have a Facility Evaluation
Report drafted to summarize the system’s ability or inability to meet the nitrate limit.
New flow meters were installed by Public Works at the beginning of 2022 and specific flows to the
three drainfield cells is now being monitored. Some additional nitrate testing was also performed in
August 2022 to provide additional data points and to get an idea of how much nutrient removal is
currently taking place through the sand filters.
As of September 1, 2022, the Facility Evaluation Report has been sent to the MPCA. We await their
review, but based on the monitoring well samples taken throughout the last year it appears we’ll be
on Track 2, with improvements to the system needed to deal with the nitrate issue. Assuming this is
the case, the next step will be to complete a full Facility Plan by August of 2023 which evaluates the
facility and its performance as a whole and provides options/recommendations for improvements to
be made. This is required by Track 2 but is also the next step in obtaining PFA funding for the project.
We met with MPCA on December 16, 2022 to discuss funding options and laid out a
schedule to complete a facility plan and apply for Point Source Implementation Grant
(PSIG) funding.
City Council authorized work to complete the facility plan on January 4, 2023. Facility plan
to be submitted by March 3, 2023. Also, Council authorized BMI to complete permit
documents for permit modification due to added treatment for nitrate removal.
Bolton & Menk currently working on Facility plan and permit modification.
· Floodplain Risk Assessment
The Watershed Board approved applying for the MPCA Small community planning grants for stormwater,
wastewater, and community resilience grant last night. Application is due October 18. Grant application was
submitted, Watershed District should know the results in about four more weeks, so approximately week of
December 5, 2023.
Watershed District has received notification from the MPCA they did not receive the grant
that was applied for.
· Bliss Addition Stormwater Planning
Watershed Administrator presented summary of input and potential projects to the City Council on
August 3, 2022.
Public Engagement Meeting scheduled for August 17, 2022 at 6:00pm at the Scandia Community
Center.
Emmons and Olivier Resources (EOR) staff will be out in the neighborhood over the next week staking
“rough” BMP locations for utility location marking. EOR staff will continue to collect additional
topographic survey between now and when the utility locations are marked.
Watershed District planning a field tour of our draft final proposed locations in October. EOR staff
plans to stake the locations of the final proposed water quality practices the week of October 10th
and we plan to meet with landowners to review each location on October 13th and 14th. The
purpose of these meetings will be to answer questions and make any final changes as we move to
90% plans. Project staking tour with residents completed. Met with City Staff to review draft 60%
plans in October. Working toward 90% plans and final agreement in November.
Watershed still working toward 90% plans based on City Staff input received in November
2022.
City has been working on the MOU agreement between the Watershed District and the
City.
· CLFLWD & Scandia Staff Quarterly Meetings
Meeting held on October 19, 2020.
Meeting on February 9, 2021.
Meeting on May 11, 2021 covered the following topics:
· Permitting Update (Nick)
· Roadway Projects (Ken)
· Bone Lake projects status: SE wetland restorations, NE wetland restoration, agricultural
practices (Blayne)
· FY22 Clean Water Fund grant award – Moody Lake projects (Emily/Blayne)
· Greenway Corridor Planning & Parks Update (Nick)
· CMSCWD Management Plan (Mike Isensee)
· Regional Update – Highway 243 Osceola Bridge
Project website: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy243osceola/index.html
Three build options continue to be considered for the new bridge. The Wisconsin Department of
Transportation (WisDOT) is currently working along with MnDOT conducting an environmental
assessment of the choices. The project team is using a three-step process to thoroughly review the
options. Step three in the review process is currently underway. The three bridge crossing build
alternatives include building on the existing bridge alignment, building the new bridge to the north of
the current bridge or building to the south of the existing alignment. During step three, the project
team will now closely assess considerations such as geology, trails and road width. They’ll also look
at reducing potential impacts to the St. Croix River, the Wilke Glen Cascade Falls area and nearby
bluffs. Once step three evaluation is complete, another public meeting will be held to share the
results and gather input from the public and regulating agencies on the recommended preferred
alternative.
Schedule:
· Environmental documentation and preliminary design: 2021 through 2023
· Final design: 2023 through 2025
· Anticipated construction: 2025 through 2026
Denise Workcuff Dmitry Tomasevich
Communications and Engagement Project manager
denise.workcuff@state.mn.us dmitry.tomasevich@state.mn.us
651-775-0025 651-245-4406
· County Roads – Swing-Away Type Mailbox
Every winter, Washington County Public Works get a number of calls from residents whose
mailboxes have been damaged by the heavy snow and ice that is forced out by the blade of
passing snowplows. Although we are sorry for the inconvenience this damage causes,
clearing the entire roadway is essential for public safety.
When a mailbox owner decides to replace their mailbox and post, Washington County
recommends a Swing Away type, (standard plate specs shown in link below) which is
designed to minimize the risk of damage from plowed snow. The resident’s driveway must
be connected to a County Road, if so, contact Washington County Public Works for ordering
and payment options. It can be purchased from Washington County and installed for
$75.00. A form and payment is required for this work.
https://www.co.washington.mn.us/2178/Swing-Away-Type-Mailbox