The Prior Lake Outlet Channel (PLOC) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is used to help facilitate use, operation, and maintenance of the PLOC and Outlet Structure.

The MOA is an agreement between Cooperators that include the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District, the City of Prior Lake, The City of Shakopee, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

The original agreement for the PLOC was created in 1981 and there have been several updates since. Key changes in this current update to the MOA included general housekeeping of references and terminology, clarification on culvert crossing maintenance responsibility, revised/updated tributary drainage areas, revised/updated design flow information, and revised/updated cost-share allocation for the outlet channel.

This update to the MOA is considered an interim update. The long-term strategy is for the Cooperators to take ownership and maintenance responsibilities of their respective sections, in turn lessening the administration and function the watershed has with the PLOC while still maintaining an agreement to ensure appropriate cost sharing. To help facilitate the transition from this interim MOA to the long-term strategy, the PLOC Cooperators are developing a Master Plan which identifies deficiencies that need to be corrected to bring the PLOC to a 100% design standard. The Master Plan outlines a 5-year plan to address the deficiencies. Once the Master Plan improvements are completed, it is expected that the ultimate PLOC MOA will be updated and revised, accordingly.

The PLOC Cooperators, which consists of four appointed members from the City of Prior Lake, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District and the City of Shakopee (Steve Lillehaug, City Engineer/Public Works Director), held a meeting on May 2, 2019, and voted unanimously with a recommendation to approve the updated PLOC MOA.