As you may have read in the paper this morning, last night the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District approved a permit to the MAC for construction of the tunnel under the North/South runway. The MAC assured the MCWD that it would use a construction method called jet grouting which will essentially form a concrete box around the work area and reduce the need for the massive dewatering originally proposed by the MAC. The MAC also agreed to extensive monitoring of lake and groundwater levels as well as monitoring of possible migration of contaminants. Most importantly, the permit provides that if the monitoring raises environmental concerns for the MCWD about the dewatering activity, the MCWD can stop the dewatering. Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the MAC, stated unequivocally that if the judgment of the MCWD is that the dewatering is having a detrimental effect on the environment, "we will stop it." This lead to the addition of language in the permit allowing MCWD to stop the pumping based on its judgment as to the adverse effects of dewatering. Hamiel's comments alluded to the fact that the MAC already has enough on its hands with citizens concerned about airport noise to engage in activity that would otherwise harm the environmental resources of South Minneapolis. I think this is a tremendous victory for the citizens of Minneapolis. Because of citizen involvement instigated by ROAR and the MCWD's persistence, we have achieved more than we could have hoped for in any other arena. Now the agency with greatest expertise in protecting our environmental resources, the MCWD, will act as a watchdog over this project. This is a testament to the cooperative efforts between the MCWD and the MAC. We should give credit to the efforts of Chuck Evenson, MCWD Executive Director, Pam Blixt, MCWD's President, Kelton Barr, and Roger Hale, Minneapolis' representative to the MAC. I was not pleased when Mr. Hale voted against our citizen petition for an EAW on this project, but I think Minneapolis was well served by his leadership in helping forge this agreement. Scott Benson Ward 11 Page
