Did the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency act lawfully in defining a “reservoir” on the basis of water residence time? Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy v. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Minn. App. No. A04-1323) (May 24, 2005). MPCA rules require a phosphorus limitation of one milligram per liter in an effluent that “discharge[s] … directly to or affects a lake or reservoir.” MCEA challenged the MPCA’s failure to include the phosphorus limit in a permit reissuance for the City of St. Cloud wastewater treatment plant, asserting that the plant’s discharge to the Mississippi River would affect the Coon Rapids Dam Pool more than 50 miles downstream. The Court of Appeals ruled that MPCA policy defining “reservoir” in terms of a water residence time of at least 14 days is not arbitrary, and that under this criterion the Pool is not a reservoir. The Court further found that MCEA did not carry its burden on showing that the discharge would “affect” the Pool adversely.
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