Wal-Mart Expansion Stalled Until Storm Water Permit Approved

A Hermantown, Minn. Wal-Mart remains just one permit short of being able to go ahead with a planned expansion.

The company had planned to complete construction on the 203,000-square-foot supercenter in 2006.

The project has stalled since June 2005, when the Hermantown Planning and Zoning Commission members voted unanimously to approve three necessary permits.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation required Wal-Mart to repeatedly tweak its traffic-flow plans before it issued the final Mn/DOT permits.

All that remains is a final storm water permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said senior project engineer Jeff Udd.

The MPCA received a revised application for a storm water permit in January, Udd said. It typically takes 180 days for the agency to issue a response. After that, there is a 30-day public comment period, and then the permit may be considered for approval.

"Hopefully, the permit can go out on public notice this summer," Udd said. He said his office is in frequent contact with the Wal-Mart corporation.

Source: DH