Brown's Creek Impaired Biota TMDL

The Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303 (d) mandates that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) assess the condition of their aquatic resources to ensure the maintenance of both aquatic life and beneficial uses. Specific water bodies that fail to meet the aquatic life and beneficial uses criteria developed by states (in CWA 303 (d)) are submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) under CWA Section 305 (b). Once water bodies are listed as impaired, stressors causing impairment must be identified, and remediation efforts, including development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for identified pollutants, need to be initiated. Brown's Creek is located in the Brown's Creek Watershed District (BCWD) in the St. Croix River basin in eastern Minnesota. Brown's Creek has an approximate 19,000-acre watershed that includes a significant portion of rural and agricultural areas. The watershed includes portions of the City of Stillwater, City of Oak Park Heights, City of Lake Elmo, City of Grant, City of Hugo, May Township, and Stillwater Township.