FMR | Other Legislative Updates

This year, more so than any in recent memory, numerous bills are near passage in the legislature that would undermine Minnesota’s foundation of environmental protection. Here is a quick summary of the bills FMR is following. At this point in the legislative session, things are very fluid and subject to change.

House and Senate Omnibus Environment Budget Bills

House File 1010 / Senate File 1029

Both bills deeply slash general fund spending on the environment in Minnesota and both bills also contain numerous policy positions that weaken the State’s framework of environmental protections. At the time of this writing the status of these bills is very fluid and many of the policy provisions are the subject of negotiations between the Governor and the Legislature.

House and Senate Omnibus Environment Policy Bills

House File 1097 / Senate File 1115

These bills contain numerous provisions that would be harmful to Minnesota’s environment including:

Eliminating wetland replacement requirements for the mining industry, particularly copper mining, whose pollution threatens the Boundary Waters and Lake Superior watersheds;
Removing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s oversight of pesticide permits;
Exempting large ethanol facility expansions from mandatory environmental review;
Increasing the petition signature requirement to 100 individuals to request an environmental assessment worksheet. This limits the ability of community members to do effective outreach and education on the issue of concern, especially since community members often are not notified and do not find out about the project early in the process.
Approving Lutsen’s proposal to use more water than the Poplar River, an important trout stream, can handle for aquatic life and trout to survive. This provision sets a dangerous precedent if passed into law. The bill undermines the DNR’s authority over water permits by allowing the State Legislature to issue permits instead of the appropriate state agency.
Delaying adoption of local subsurface sewage treatment system ordinances for systems with an average daily sewage flow of 2500 gallons per day or less, until 2014.

These bills also contain an excellent package of measures proposed by the DNR that would improve Minnesota’s response to Aquatic Invasive Species such as Eurasian Water Milfoil and Asian Carp.

Increasing Pollution to the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin

Senate File 161 / House File 368 — Lake Pepin Phosphorus Standard

These bills would attempt to save money for wastewater treatment plant operators by weakening enforcement of phosphorus pollution loading for eight months of the year. The result of which would be increasing rather than decreasing Phosphorous pollution to the Mississippi River and other waters. At the time of this writing this bill was included in the legislature’s Omnibus Environment Budget Bill. Read the recent Star Tribune editorial on this bill.

Banning New Water Regulations for Two Years

Senate File 196 / House File 182 – Moratorium on Water Quality Rules

Under the pretense of pausing to study Minnesota’s water governance these bills would place a two-year moratorium on any State rules related to water resources. The moratorium would tie the hands of Minnesota’s state agencies and prevent them from enacting rules designed to protect rivers, lakes, wetlands and ground water. At the time of this writing this bill was included in the legislature’s Omnibus Environment Budget Bill.

Watered-down wild rice protection

House File 1002 / Senate File 732 — Sulfates Water Quality Standards

These provisions would remove sulfate pollution standards for wild rice waters, threatening Minnesota’s wild rice production and Native American heritage. Read more in the Star Tribune.

Want More?

For a more complete listing of bills that undermine Minnesota’s framework of environmental protections visit the Minnesota Environmental Partnership website.

Want to contact your legislators about your concerns about any of these bills? Here’s how: