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EQB Monitor




Weekly announcements and environmental review notices





Volume 50, Number 8                                                                                       February 24, 2026

 

Announcements

*Notice of **_February Board meeting [ [link removed] ]_* *decisions* 

1. The board elected EQB member Dan Katzenberger to serve as Vice Chair until February, 2027.

2. The Board moved forward to fulfill the legislative directive by proposing rule amendments that:


* Remove the requirement that an EAW be prepared for scoping an EIS
* Provide that “a scoping process” must be completed no later than 280 days after publication of the notice of availability of “a scoping document” in the "EQB Monitor". 

The Board gave the Executive Director the authority to complete the rulemaking process that includes drafting an Order Adopting Rules, sending a Notice of Submission to the Court of Administrative Hearings (CAH), and notifying the EQB’s rulemaking mailing list that the rules were submitted to the CAH for review. As the rulemaking progresses, we will share updates on our rules and regulations webpage [ [link removed] ], opportunities for public comment on our Engagement webpage [ [link removed] ], and via our GovDelivery rulemaking list. [ [link removed] ]  

 






Junco bird on a Birch tree branch in the snow




Environmental review project notices

EQB publishes environmental review notices provided by responsible governmental units. For more information on a project undergoing environmental review, click on the individual project links below. You can also find information about active projects in your community on the Environmental Review Projects Interactive Map [ [link removed] ].

 

Owatonna Public Safety Facilities

*Location: *Owatonna, Steele County
*Process: *Petition
*Step: *Responsible governmental unit assigned

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *City of Owatonna, Jenna Tuma <Jenna%20L.%20Tuma%20%[email protected]%3e>,
507-774-7361

 

*Community Health & Wellness Center*

*Location: *Bloomington; Hennepin County
*Process: *Petition
*Step: *Petition exempt from review

*Notice description:* On February 13, EQB received notice from the City of Bloomington (the designated responsible governmental unit) that a substantial portion of the above-named project has been completed and an EIS would not influence remaining construction, and therefore the petition will not be considered (Minn R. 4410.4600 Subp. 2 D [ [link removed] ]).

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *City of Bloomington, Nick Johnson <[email protected]>,
952-563-8920

 

Bailey Development [ [link removed] ]

*Location (city/township; county): *Woodbury; Washington
*Process: *EAW
*Step: *EAW available
*End of comment period: *March 26, 2026

*Project description: *Bailey Nurseries proposes to develop approximately 184 acres into mixed residential, retail, and business park land uses. The proposed project will construct up to 360 attached residential units, 89,600 square feet of retail, and up to 660,400 square feet of business park (e.g., light industrial, warehousing). Approximately 29 acres of Public/Semi-Public recreational area will also be included in the project area. The project includes a phased extension of Century Avenue (CSAH 25) from Bailey Road (CSAH 18) north to its existing termini at Carver Avenue (CSAH 43). One full-access intersection will be added to Bailey Road (CSAH 18) at the proposed Century Avenue (CSAH 25) intersection. Internal roadway networks, stormwater ponding, and associated utilities would also be constructed throughout the development area.
Bailey Development project link provided by RGU [ [link removed] ]

*Location of public documents:* City of Woodbury, 8301 Valley Creek Rd, Woodbury,
MN 55125

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *City of Woodbury, Jennifer McLoughlin <[email protected]>,
651-714-3522

 

Cedar Creek Restoration Project [ [link removed] ]

*Location (city/township; county): *Athens Township; Isanti
*Process: *EAW
*Step: *EAW available
*End of comment period: *March 26, 2026

*Project description: *The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the University of Minnesota (UMN) propose to conduct a stream re-meander project at Cedar Creek located approximately 3.8 miles southeast of Isanti, Isanti County, Minnesota to address ditching and degraded in-stream habitat to restore the ecological and hydrologic functions of the creek and adjacent floodplain. The project will include reconnecting the creek to historic meanders in the floodplain, installing riffles for grade control, installing woody material for instream habitat, and restoring native riparian vegetation. The project area occurs within the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve and will be funded through a mixture of public and private funds, including a Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC) grant awarded to TNC in collaboration with the Anoka Sandplain Partnership.
Cedar Creek Restoration Project project link provided by RGU [ [link removed] ]

*Location of public documents:* 
North Central Library, 17565 Central Ave NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304
DNR Library, 500 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN 55155
Hennepin County – Minneapolis Central Library, Government Documents, Second Floor,
300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Reid Brown <[email protected]>, 651-259-5100

 

Stearns County Justice Center [ [link removed] ]

*Location (city/township; county): *St Cloud; Stearns
*Process: *EAW
*Step: *EAW available
*End of comment period: *March 26, 2026

*Project description: *The proposed project would consist of a newly constructed Justice Center for Stearns County located within two parcels (31.20810.0000, 31.20803.0000) totaling approximately 75.87 acres. The 508,600 square foot complex would be split between three functions: courts tower, a jail, a law enforcement center, and Sheriff Department vehicle maintenance outbuilding.

*Location of public documents:* St Cloud City Hall, 1201 7th St S, St Cloud, MN 56301

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *City of Saint Cloud, Matt Glaesman <[email protected]>,
320-650-3110

 

Vermillion Reserve [ [link removed] ]

*Location (city/township; county): *Eureka Township; Dakota
*Process: *EAW
*Step: *EAW available
*End of comment period: *March 26, 2026

*Project description: *Vermillion Reserve is a proposed residential development in Eureka Township, Minnesota of up to 370 single-family detached residential units on approximately 158.3 acres that is currently in agricultural use. The proposed project will also include extension of sanitary sewer and watermain to serve the site, roadway improvements, and stormwater management. The proposed project would be phased over the next several years. The City of Farmington adopted an ordinance permitting the annexation of the project site by ordinance. Certified copies of the ordinance have been filed and an administrative law judge is in the process of reviewing the annexation petition and ordinance.

*Location of public documents:* City of Farmington, 430 Third Street, Farmington,
MN 55024

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *City of Farmington, Tony Wippler <[email protected]>,
651-280-6822

 

Jones Lake Outlet Modification, Dredging, and Restoration Project [ [link removed] ]

*Location (city/township; county): *New Brighton; Ramsey
*Process: *EAW
*Step: *EIS need decision

*Responsible governmental unit decision: *Negative (no EIS ordered)
*Responsible governmental unit record of decision date: *February 11, 2026

*Project description: *RCWD is proposing a project at Jones Lake to modify its outlet, construct a sediment forebay, dredge sediment from within and adjacent to the basin, and restore the habitat within and around the basin. The planned depth of excavation is intended to match historic (early mid-20 th century) conditions and is based on field survey of loosely consolidated sediment depths. The outlet structure is designed to attenuate flood flows without impacting surrounding structures. A sediment forebay is planned to capture sediments before it enters Jones Lake from the RCD 5 system south of Jones Lake.

*Location of public documents:* Rice Creek Watershed District, 4325 Pheasant Ridge
Drive NE, Blaine, MN 55449

*Responsible governmental unit and contact: *Rice Creek Watershed District, David Petry <[email protected]>, 763-398-3070

 

Fish kill reports

Minnesota Duty Officer reports pertaining to fish kills are summarized in the following table, in accordance with 103G.216, REPORTING FISH KILLS IN PUBLIC WATERS, Subd. 2 Reporting Requirement. These reports were received via the Minnesota Duty Officer prior to the submission deadline for this edition of the EQB Monitor. They represent the raw data/information provided by callers. For more information regarding fish kills in Minnesota see the Department of Natural Resources [ [link removed] ]. Call the Minnesota Duty Officer at 651‐649‐5451 or 800‐422‐0798 to report fish kills.

*Date*



*Location*



*County*



*Waterbody*



*Species*



*Count*



2/17/2026



Minnetonka



Hennepin



Grays Bay/Minnehaha



Bowfin, Carp



200



 

Submit a notice to the "EQB" "Monitor"

The "EQB Monitor" is a weekly publication announcing environmental review documents, public comment periods and other actions of the Environmental Quality Board. The "EQB Monitor" is published every Tuesday at noon. Submissions to the "EQB Monitor [ [link removed] ]" are due by 4:00 p.m. on the Tuesday one week prior to the intended publication date. Please see the EQB Monitor schedule [ [link removed] ] for more details.

 

To submit a notice for publication:

Access the EQB monitor submission service [ [link removed] ]

 

Questions? Contact EQB by phone at 651-757-2873 or email us at [email protected]. 

For more information on environmental review, please visit the EQB website or contact us at [email protected].


















Minnesota Environmental Quality Board

*Environmental Quality Board | eqb.state.mn.us [ [link removed] ] *

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