County environmental services outlines wetlands, feedlot and AIS activity; board approves $100,000 CRP incentive grant agreement

Shelley Benson, Stearns County Environmental Services director, and Ag and Water Resources Division Supervisor Becky Schlorff briefed the county board on wetland conservation, feedlot oversight, manure-record compliance and the county’s aquatic invasive species (AIS) program on March 11.

Becky Schlorff said staff averaged roughly 920 contacts with landowners per year regarding the Wetland Conservation Act and reported three informal wetland violation resolutions in 2024. "For wetland violations in 2024, we had 3 violations, 3 informal resolutions," Schlorff said. She also said staff opened 24 investigations that year; not all complaints proved valid.

On feedlots, Schlorff told commissioners Stearns County has about 840 feedlots and that the majority are in the 50–299 animal-unit range. She said county permits averaged 22 business days to issue in 2024 and that staff issued 69 permits that year. Schlorff reported the county has reviewed recordkeeping for 546 feedlots (61% of the county total) and found 223 noncompliant for manure record-keeping (about 41% of those reviewed).

Schlorff described staff work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), said MPCA has begun stakeholder engagement on potential rule changes, and noted the county plans small ordinance updates to feedlot provisions before sending changes to the planning commission.

Angela Beckman summarized watershed planning and AIS efforts. She said the North Fork Crow River and Sauk River watersheds were in implementation, the Mississippi River St. Cloud watershed had completed a plan and formed a joint powers entity, and the Mississippi River Sartell watershed had begun planning in early 2025. For AIS, staff recorded 13,257 inspections across nine lake accesses and eight water bodies in 2024; the county spent about $225,000 on the program with more than $100,000 in local contributions reported.

The board approved a fiscal-year 2025 CRP incentives grant agreement with the Sauk River Watershed Collaborative and authorized the county auditor to sign the digital grant agreement. The grant provides $100,000 to incentivize CRP enrollments in the watershed; the collaborative’s approved work plan (packet page 200) sets incentives at $100 per acre up to $3,000 per contract on a first-come, first-served basis and $500 per acre up to $15,000 for targeted areas.

Commissioners pressed staff to expand proactive outreach and to provide clear fact sheets for small feedlot operators to reduce after-the-fact permits and noncompliance. Schlorff said staff can consider a fact sheet and noted staff already do one-on-one education and modeling for pending construction sites.

No additional regulatory action was taken at the meeting beyond the CRP grant authorization; staff said they will bring proposed ordinance text changes and feedlot-program updates to planning commission and the board when ready.