A final public hearing on the Cedar River Watershed District’s proposed rules, which include a permitting program, will be next week in Austin. The CRWD Board of Managers will host the hearing 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center’s Ruby Rupner Auditorium.

The board will hear from the public and consider approving the proposed draft rules that aim to reduce future flooding and improve water quality within the Cedar River Watershed. Everyone will have a chance to express his or her view during Wednesday’s hearing. Snow storage – an issue of particular concern with the City of Austin and its snow-storage site near the Marcusen Park baseball stadium — is one of the rules expected to be discussed during the hearing.

“We are at the end of a long road,” CRWD Administrator Bev Nordby said. “It has been almost two years of hard work to put a good set of rules together for the watershed.”

Government officials at the township, city and county levels in Dodge, Freeborn, Mower and Steele counties reviewed the CRWD’s draft rules earlier this year. CRWD officials drafted rules to address their priorities of reducing stormwater flows and protecting and improving water quality. The rules cover several areas, including stormwater, floodplain, water body alterations, erosion control and enforcement.

All Minnesota watershed districts must have a watershed management plan and rules under state law. For accuracy of record, all important facts and statements for Wednesday’s public hearing should be submitted in writing. Written statements may be handed to the administrator at the meeting or mailed beforehand to Bev Nordby, Administrator, Cedar River Watershed District, 1408 21st St NE Austin, MN, 55912. All statements will become part of the official record. Copies of the draft rules are available at the Mower County Soil & Water Conservation District office in Austin or online at the CRWD’s website — www.cedarriverwd.org.