St. Louis County Bridge 47 Replacement Project – 401 Water Quality Certification

We invite you to comment on the draft 401 Water Quality Certification for the St. Louis County Bridge #47 Replacement Project in St. Louis County.

St. Louis County Public Works proposes to replace a structurally deficient bridge (Bridge #47) that serves as a crossing over Big Sucker Creek in Normanna Township. The existing crossing, a 40-foot span bridge, will be replaced with a precast double-barrel box culvert. The culvert will be comprised of two, 16 feet by 9 feet structures with 52-foot barrel length and 24-foot flared end sections. Riprap will be placed at the inlet and outlet of the proposed culvert. The culvert will be embedded two feet into the substrate. The project also includes flattening of the shoulders near the bridge approach to meet minimum safety and design standards. The bridge replacement will result in permanent impacts to 0.27 acres of wetlands and 111 linear feet of stream and temporary impacts to 0.38 acres of wetlands.

A 401 Water Quality Certification is required when an individual, business, or property owner proposes construction-related activities near a navigable lake, river, stream, or adjacent wetland. The MPCA reviews projects to ensure they will not violate Minnesota's more protective water quality standards. The 401 certification becomes an enforceable component of the associated federal license or permits issued under the Clean Water Act.