Rules and Permits
The Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District adopted rules for the management of the district’s water resources under Minnesota Statute Chapter 103D. The rules regulate public and private drainage activities, construction work and land uses that may affect water flow or water quality.
Listed below are the activities requiring permits and activities prohibited in the watershed district. Please see the watershed district rules document or contact us for more information.
The following activities require a permit from the Board of Managers prior to initiation of the activity.
Work in any watercourse or water basin, whether or not water is present at the time of work; including but not limited to excavation, filling, dredging and the placement of structures of any type.
Work in the right of way of any public drainage system.
Withdrawal of ground or surface water at a rate greater than 50 gallons per minute or installation of an irrigation project serving an area over 1 acre.
Installation of new surface tile intakes and catch basins, including those draining new or existing impervious surfaces.
Construction or improvement of any agricultural drainage tile system that includes a surface intake or other device that may allow unfiltered surface water to enter the subsurface drainage system.
Construction of an open ditch drainage system or dike.
Construction activities that may drain or fill wetlands as defined by the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual
Operation or alteration of any water control structure in any watercourse or water basin.
Diversion of water into a different sub-watershed or into a public drainage system from land not assessed for the system.
Installation of riprap on lake shore or stream banks.
Installation of new storm sewers, culverts or bridges, or replacement of existing storm sewers culverts or bridges with structures having a greater flow capacity.
Installation of agricultural best management practices that require land alteration including surface tile intakes, terraces, waterways, and diversions that have not been designed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service or Soil and Water Conservation District.
Grading or fill placement within the shore impact zone.
Disposal of snow within the shore impact zone or on impervious surfaces that drain directly or indirectly through storm water disposal systems to lakes, streams, ditches or wetlands.
Construction activity including clearing, grading and excavation that disturbs one or more acres of land. These projects require the owner to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System permit.
Earth moving projects involving more than 200 cubic yards of excavation or fill; or which disturbs more than 10,000 square feet of soil, and which project, or any part thereof, is located:
· within 300 feet of a stream, storm sewer catch basin, drainage tile intake or a wetland, or
· within 1,000 feet of a lake.
Any other act that, as judged by the Managers, may have a significant impact on the Districts water resources.
The following activities are prohibited in the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District.
Disposal of anything other than water in a public or private drainage systems and road right-of ways.
Planting, cultivating or harvesting agricultural crops, other than grass hay, closer than 16.5 feet from a tile intake, the top of a public or private ditch bank, or the top of a stream course bank.
Planting, cultivating or harvesting agricultural crops, other than grass hay, closer than 50 feet from a lakeshore or the shoreline of a municipal reservoir.
Planting, cultivating or harvesting agricultural crops, other than grass hay, in public road right-of-ways.
Constructing drainage systems, or installing tile or ditch outlets, in public road right-of ways without written permission from the road authority.
Replacement of culverts under public roads or private driveways, with culverts or bridges with greater or lesser flow capacity, unless required for a conservation practice project meeting Natural Resources Conservation Services standards and specifications, or required for a project designed by a licensed engineer for flood water storage, or required for a project designed by a licensed engineer to comply with state standards and specifications for protection of existing structures or public safety.
Rules and Permits
Documents and Forms