Attention Contractors & Area Landowners
Blue Earth County requests the cooperation of contractors and persons owning or renting land adjacent to County highway right of way.
Permit Required
It is not permissible to excavate a drainage ditch or tile into the County right of way without a permit from the Blue Earth County Highway Department for the following general concerns:
- The agricultural drainage ditch may carry sediment into the highway ditch or erode the highway ditch resulting in higher maintenance costs.
- The agricultural drainage ditch may drain a wetland or feedlot resulting in the County contributing to wetland drainage or pollution.
- Highway ditches generally do not have an outlet to a river or County drainage ditches but rather are designed to accommodate the natural surface water drainage patterns. Draining a pothole into the highway ditch generally results in shifting water to an adjacent downstream landowner.
- The County highway ditch is public land - private use of this right of way requires a permit.
For More Information
If you have any questions, please contact Public Works at (507) 304-4025.