After nearly a year of work, Freeborn County and the advisory committee it created are now faced with this proposition: The very agency that pressured the county into action on the watershed now wants to extend its involvement for another 18 months.

Friday, June 29, 2001

After nearly a year of work, Freeborn County and the advisory committee it created are now faced with this proposition: The very agency that pressured the county into action on the watershed now wants to extend its involvement for another 18 months. The agency says it want s to ensure that the county is sufficiently motivated to complete and carry out its plans.

Some may be tempted to see this as an imposition, or an insult to the county’s independence. But really, if the county is planning on going through with the plan it has devised, it won’t be a problem for the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to extend its agreement.

The point of all this is that BWSR, by keeping an abeyance agreement with the county, has the power to judge whether the county has completed its obligations. If it decides the county has not done its job in the time allotted, it can appoint its own watershed board – a prospect balked at by many residents last year.

The county has already come a long way on its water plan, thanks to the efforts of the advisory committee. It’s time now to see that the plan is refined and completed, and that it is put into action. If the county truly intends to make that happen anyway, BWSR’s continued involvement should not be a threat. And if having an ultimatum over their heads is what it takes to motivate officials to get watershed cleanup done, then so be it.