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Judge rules against apartment owners in Uptown groundwater pumping case

Park Board said groundwater pumping hinders maintenance, thins ice and mars lake scenery.

November 7, 2014 at 5:23AM

A judge ruled against the owners of a luxury Uptown apartment building, sued by the city of Minneapolis over what the city says is the illegal discharge of groundwater into the lagoon between Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun. (Dml - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A judge has ruled that the pumping of groundwater from the underground parking area of an upscale Uptown apartment building into city sewers and a nearby lagoon violates Minneapolis ordinances.

Hennepin County District Judge Philip D. Bush ruled Wednesday in a city of Minneapolis lawsuit against apartment owner Lake and Knox LLC over its pumping of water that would otherwise seep into the building's lower garage. The 56-unit building at 1800 W. Lake St. is the same project that stirred debate in 2009 over the appropriate height for buildings in the area.

Bush will set a hearing within 30 days on the city's request for an injunction banning the pumping into sewers and the lagoon between Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles.

The judge will also rule later on the city's demand for a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for the unauthorized pumping of water into the sewers. The city also claims it spent more than $130,000 responding to the issue, including installing piping to direct the water out of the lagoon and into Calhoun during the winter.

"We're extremely pleased," City Attorney Susan Segal said. "This has been a very frustrating and time-consuming problem for the city to deal with."

Representatives of the building's ownership could not be reached for comment. The city's filings identified them as developers Nick Walton and Daniel Oberpriller, who have other investors.

The apartment owner has also brought claims against BKV Group, RLK Inc. and Braun Intertec, which it said provided engineering or geotechnical services for the project. A separate jury trail would determine how to divide the liability among them.

The city argued that the pumping of groundwater constituted an unauthorized discharge of water into storm sewers. The city had granted the developers a temporary permit to pump groundwater during construction of parking levels that were installed below the water table. But city officials argued that permit ended when construction concluded.

The judge agreed with the city that the pumping constitutes a public nuisance. The city alleged that the pumping overtaxes storm drains and damages the Chain of Lakes. Bush said the discharge constitutes a trespass of city sewers.

In court filings, the city has portrayed the owners as going ahead with a two-level underground garage despite evidence that the lower level would sit below the area's water table and become a permanent problem.

City officials estimate the apartment owners pumped out about 90 million gallons of water annually.

That discharge into the lagoon has thinned the nearby ice during the winter and endangered cross-country skiers, according to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, which joined the lawsuit. The city and Park Board allege that the drainage mars the lake's scenery and hinders maintenance of settling basins that remove sediment and pollutants.

The city alleged that the developers were told repeatedly that they needed to apply for a permit to discharge into sewers after construction.

"They knew exactly what they were doing," said Brian Rice, an attorney for the Park Board. "The sign is red, they know there's a stop sign, and they're driving through the stop sign at 30 miles per hour."

Dan McLaughlin, president of the East Isles Residents Association, said area residents want the pumping stopped. "We look forward to the final solution for the problem they created," he said.

Lara Norkus-Crampton, a Calhoun-area resident, praised the city and Park Board for defending the area ecosystem.

Norkus-Crampton had resigned from the Planning Commission in 2009 after members granted variances and other approvals for the apartment that she felt violated Uptown residents' plan for the area.

"It only takes one rogue developer to make a bigger impact than any of us could create," she said.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

That discharge into the lagoon thinned the nearby ice during the winter and endangered cross-country skiers, according to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, which joined the lawsuit. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)