Wetland Conservation Act (WCA)
Wetlands are regulated under the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act of 1991.
Purpose: To maintain and protect Minnesota's wetlands and the benefits they provide.
Administration: For Polk County, administration is through the East Polk Soil and Water Conservation District and West Polk Soil and Water Conservation District. The MN Board of Soil and Water Resources administers the act statewide.
Enforcement: MN Department of Natural Resources.
Benefits: The WCA recognizes a number of wetland benefits deemed important, including:
- Water quality, including filtering pollutants out of surface water and groundwater, using nutrients that would otherwise pollute public waters, trapping sediments, protecting shoreline, and recharging groundwater supplies;
- Floodwater and storm water retention, including reducing the potential for flooding in the watershed;
- Public recreation and education, including hunting and fishing areas, wildlife viewing areas, and nature areas;
- Commercial benefits, including wild rice and cranberry growing areas and aquaculture areas;
- Fish and wildlife benefits; and
- Low-flow augmentation during times of drought.
What to do: West Polk SWCD offers the following suggestions to anyone who has a project that might impact a wetland.
- Early in the process, contact our office. We can give you appropriate guidance.
- Find out if land you want to alter is a wetland.
- Fill out a Joint Application Form below, at our field office or the Board of Water and Soil Resources web site (www.bwsr.state.mn.us/wetlands/index.html).
- Before you purchase property for development, consider the existence of any wetlands and weigh the environmental impact and financial cost of disturbing those areas against the project’s benefits.
- Thoroughly consider and document the alternatives you have considered to avoid wetland impacts.
- Consider the possible concerns of the community and the project’s neighbors.
- If you proceed with a project, determine where the wetlands are and design your project accordingly.
| MN Wetland WCA Joint Application Form |
| MN Wetland WCA Contractor Responsibility Form |
Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) Annual Reports
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