History

In 1978 the Cities of Independence, Medina, and Minnetrista, along with the Hennepin Conservation District, created the Pioneer Creek Watershed Management Commission to protect and manage the natural resources of the Pioneer Creek watershed.  Six years later the City of Greenfield offered a resolution to the Pioneer Watershed Commission requesting a merger of the Sarah Creek and Pioneer Creek commissions in order to combine services and avoid creation of numerous small watershed organizations.

In 1984 the Pioneer-Sarah Creek Watershed Management Commission was officially established through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) signed by the cities of Corcoran, Greenfield, Independence, Loretto, Maple Plain, Medina, and Minnetrista, Watertown Township, and the Hennepin Conservation District (HCD) under authority conferred to the member parties through MN Statutes 471.59 and 103B.1. This resulted in adding the Sarah Creek watershed and Crow River drainage area to the Commission’s legal boundaries.

In 2001 the Commission approved the City of Corcoran’s request to withdraw from the Commission and to transfer its small area of land in the Pioneer-Sarah Creek watershed under the Elm Creek Watershed Management Commission.  Effective in December of that year, Watertown Township also requested to withdraw its membership in the Commission and transfer its total area under the Carver County Water Plan.

In 2003, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners authorized the establishment of conservation services under County auspices. Effective in June 2003, the Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services (HCDES) began providing technical services to the Pioneer-Sarah Creek Watershed Management Commission. These services include conservation engineering services related to hydrology and hydraulic analyses, the review of site development plans, and technical assistance regarding best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater management, erosion control and the protection of water quality. This necessitated an amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement since prior to that time technical services were provided by the Hennepin County Conservation District, a party of the original JPA.