Following the chaotic end of the 2015 regular legislative session, the conservation community rallied to build public support for a veto of a highly controversial environmental bill: the Omnibus Environment and Agriculture Bill.

While Governor Dayton is to be commended for his veto of the original bill, a renegotiated bill surfaced during the recent legislative special session and was passed with many of the same dirty water provisions that were in the original bill.

Overall, the Omnibus Environment and Agriculture Bill remains one of the most anti-clean-water measures to come out of the state legislature in recent memory, and includes an especially egregious repeal of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizens' Board.

On May 27, 2015, the Obama Administration released an update to the Clean Water Act called the Clean Water Rule or the Waters of the U.S. Rule. The rule will better protect water quality, aquatic life and clean drinking water for 1 in 5 Minnesotans by more clearly outlining which streams, lakes and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act.

Thanks to those who have stenciled with FMR so far this year! New photos have been posted on our Flickr page.

Send Governor Dayton a message asking him to veto the Environment budget Bill.

Following a disappointing and chaotic end to the 2015 legislative session, the conservation community is asking Governor Dayton to veto a highly controversial environmental bill. The bill makes deep cuts to environmental spending (24.3%), contains numerous rollbacks to environmental policies, and includes last-minute language violating a universal agreement on biofuels policy.

While the legislature's compromise on a modest stream buffer proposal was among several positive outcomes this year, funding for both the buffer initiative and UofM Forever Green cover crop research failed to pass before the clock ran out. As a result, a special session is almost certain to be scheduled in the coming weeks.