U of M, DNR will conduct study to construct geological atlas for county
By Erin Ballard
Efforts to map out the foundation of Lyon County will begin soon.
A partnership with the University of Minnesota and the Department of Natural Resources to conduct a geological survey of the area was approved Tuesday morning by the Lyon County Board of Commissioners.
“You have a long history of working on difficult water issues, I know that,” said Paul Putzier, with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “So, you’re very smart about these things as a county because you’ve had a lot of challenges, I think.”
The Minnesota Geological Survey is a research and service arm of the Newton Horace Winchell School of Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota. It works with state, county and regional offices to set up geologic data bases and provide technical guidance for water resource planning, land management and mineral exploration policy, energy system development, and other planning and resource management activities.
Barbara Lusardi, associate director of the Minnesota Geological Survey, spoke to commissioners about the importance of a geologic atlas in regulating common issues such as watershed, recreation, construction and more.
“There’s just a lot of things going on that require natural resources and then impact natural resources, including water. Anything that falls from the ground or from the tanker truck or from a manure patch onto the ground is going to go back into the earth. And what the material is below that spill or that rainfall is going to determine how fast it moves, where it flows to. So, it’s important to know what the distribution of those materials is,” she said.
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