Department of Natural Resources v. Mahnomen County Hearings Unit

OPINION

WOZNIAK, Judge.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) appeals certain decisions of the Mahnomen County Hearings Unit, in which the unit refused to accept the DNR’s recommendations regarding the designation of certain water resources as public waters or wetlands. We affirm in part, and reverse and remand in part.

FACTS

The hearings unit is a three-member body created by statute to determine whether certain water resources statutorily qualify for the designation of public waters or wetlands. The determination involves a long process of inventory, the DNR’s proposed…