Bedrock testing for a proposed bridge over the St. Croix River will be delayed at least four months because of a dispute over how state agencies handled the permit process.

The mayor of Oak Park Heights, David Beaudet, told administrative law Judge Barb Neilson on Tuesday that he found "many troubling aspects" in what the agencies planned to do with drilling in the St. Croix.

"They're going much deeper in the river than was originally requested," he said.

Beaudet sat alone on one side of a table in front of the judge. Three attorneys for the state departments of Natural Resources and Transportation sat on the other.

Attorney Patrick Whiting told Neilson the testing could determine whether a new bridge is built. The current proposal shows the bridge launching from Oak Park Heights, about a mile south of downtown Stillwater.

Beaudet said state law allowed him to contest the permits as the city's mayor, but he said after the hearing that other City Council members didn't agree with his position.

Beaudet said the agencies didn't allow sufficient notification of the permitting process.

In one instance in January, notification inadvertently was delivered to Stillwater city offices. In another instance, Beaudet said, DNR issued a drilling permit 12 days after notifying his city offices -- but 48 days short of the comment period that he said the law requires.

The $3.7 million drilling project went on the shelf when Beaudet asked for a contested hearing. Among other things, he told the judge he's concerned whether the DNR took into consideration migration of fish in the St. Croix.

Neilson said a formal hearing on the matter would begin Aug. 11 unless both sides resolve their differences through mediation first.

The National Park Service withdrew its endorsement of the $3.7 million test borings two weeks ago.

St. Paul contractor Carl Bolander and Sons had been selected to conduct the load tests, which would involve deep drilling into the river bottom on two sites south of Stillwater.

Kevin Giles • 612-673-4432