Important Updates from COLA

We want to highlight two updates from the Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations [HC COLA] meetings:

▶︎ First, the Enbridge’s Proposed Line 3 Replacement is the exact same route as the now tabled Sandpiper line which runs through Minnesota’s cleanest waters.  It is not a “replacement” in the normal sense of the word.  It is abandoning the current Line 3 Pipeline, leaving it where it is, and building a new one on the same route that they originally proposed as the Sandpiper Pipeline.  It puts Park Rapids water supply at risk along with area lakes and rivers.  You can read the details of it’s impact specifically on Hubbard County here: http://www.hubbardcolamn.org/county-impacts.html  You will also find information and links to alternate route proposals in the article.

For extensive information on the pipeline and efforts to have an Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] on the project check out the Friend’s of the Headwaters Website. http://friendsoftheheadwaters.org/index.html
and http://friendsoftheheadwaters.org/latest-news-and-information.html

▶︎ Second, DNR Firewise specialist, Dan Carroll, spoke about Long Lake as "Priority 1" for Park Rapids.  It’s populated and dense with trees. On Long Lake’s west side from Hubbard to Hafner’s Greenhouse on170th Street and the entire area east of County Road 6, there are 1200 structures.  Long Lake is 9 miles long; the Green Valley fire was 9 miles long.  The Green Valley fire had 30-40 mph winds behind the fire from the west and northwest, which is unusual.  Fire typically feeds on south or southwest wind. There are things we as homeowners can do to help prevent fires now.  For assessment assistance or questions, contact Dan at 218-732-3309, the local DNR forestry office.

The plot shown below is of the Green Valley 2013 Fire, courtesy MN DNR.