Our regular office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday though Friday. To find out more about our office, please refer to our office page.
A Watershed District is a local unit of government authorized under Minnesota statute 103D, whose goal is to conserve natural resources through land use planning, flood control, and other conservation projects. Watershed Districts, Rice Creek included, roughly follow the boundary of the natural watershed they are managing, rather than typical political boundaries.
We are located in the Village of Blaine, in Blaine Minnesota. For detailed driving directions and a map of our office location, please visit our this page.
| County | Population | Area (Square Miles) |
|---|---|---|
| Anoka | 53,000 | 74 |
| Hennepin | 2,000 | .5 |
| Ramsey | 89,000 | 47 |
| Washington | 21,000 | 65 |
| Total | 165,000 | 186.5 |
Upon receipt of an application, the District will send out a receipt notice and permit review schedule to the applicant via mail.
For new applications, the District has up to 15 days to notify the applicant whether or not the application is complete. Once an application is conditionally approved by the Board of Managers at their monthly permit meeting, the District will continue to accept application submittal materials (revised plans, surety, legal forms, etc.) until all pending items are satisfied and the permit can be issued. Review time for these items varies depending on the number of items received from all applicants. The District reviews items on a first submitted, first reviewed basis. In general, submittal items are reviewed by the District within 15 days of submittal.
Permits are valid for 18 months after the issuance date. Extensions may be given on a case-by-case basis if the applicant requests an extension within 2 weeks of the expiration date.
Most commercial redevelopment projects require a permit from the District and some level of stormwater management. If the project results in a site with 1 acre or more of impervious surface, then full rate control, water quality treatment and volume control requirements apply. If the project results in a site with less than 1 acre of impervious surface, then rate control and water quality treatment requirements may be waived if volume control requirements are incorporated to the maximum extent possible.
These requirements apply to the redevelopment area only, unless more than 50% of the site is redeveloped. If more than 50% of the site is redeveloped, then the above stormwater management requirements apply to the entire site.
Yes. The District's permitting process is completely separate from any other local government or regulatory agency process. The District reviews applications for compliance with our rules and independent of other permit reviews. Applicants can choose to apply for a permit at the same time as applying to the City or other regulatory agency or they can apply for one first and then the other. Some Cities require that a project be approved by the Rice Creek Watershed District before they issue a final project approval.
The District is not a land use control authority and does not issue building permits, therefore this question cannot be answered on the basis of the presence of a wetland alone. However, the District does have jurisdiction over all wetlands. Filling, draining, or excavating these wetlands requires a permit and generally requires 2:1 replacement in addition to requiring the applicant to provide appropriate justification for impacting the wetland (economic considerations alone are not valid).
The District currently has no setback requirements from wetlands. Some Cities and Townships have setback requirements. However for properties within a designated Shoreland zone (within 1000 feet of a lake, 300 feet of a river or protected watercourse), certain setback requirements from the lake or watercourse would apply (contact the District Permit Coordinator).