Blaine, MN Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapter 34, Article VIII opens by stating the city's interest in protecting its water resources and complying with the federal and state rules layered onto Blaine's local surface water management plan, or LSWMP, under § 34-263. Section 34-290 turns that policy into a requirement: any project disturbing more than one acre, or part of a larger development plan, needs a stormwater management plan designed to reduce impervious area, control peak flow, and minimize runoff volume, reviewed and approved by the city before construction starts, with best management practices built and maintained afterward; projects under one acre are only encouraged, not required, to add infiltration practices.

Section 34-294 sets the numeric target beneath that plan: volume-control practices must infiltrate or retain the first one and one-tenth inches of precipitation falling on the site's impervious surface, new development must achieve no net increase in runoff volume, total suspended solids or total phosphorus compared to pre-project conditions, and redevelopment must achieve a net reduction in all three. Section 34-297 layers on a wetlands rule: a natural vegetation buffer at least 15 feet wide, with 25 feet preferred, must surround every wetland, and any draining, filling or alteration needs state Wetland Conservation Act approval favoring avoidance first, then minimization, then mitigation.

Section 34-292 cross-references the city's drainageway and grading standards in §§ 101-13 and 129-15 so a project cannot satisfy stormwater rules while worsening drainage onto a neighboring lot.