Judge faults DNR for allowing overpumping of White Bear Lake’s aquifer
Water levels in White Bear Lake have fallen due to excessive pumping from the aquifer underneath the lake.
In a sweeping order, Ramsey County Judge Margaret Marrinan faulted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for authorizing unsustainable groundwater pumping; depleting the aquifer and artificially lowering water levels in White Bear Lake. The ruling could have widespread implications for groundwater management in Minnesota.
Evaluating the final Clean Water Fund bill
HF 707 betrays the expectations of Minnesota voters by raiding $22 million in Clean Water Fund money for administrative costs for local governments, while failing to heed the recmmendations of Minnesota's Clean Water Council.
How water fared in the legislative session + a happy hour invitation
While the 2017 Minnesota legislative session didn’t go as well as we hoped — we failed to make any meaningful progress on water quality — we can say for certain that the final bills were a great improvement over those originally vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton.
Thank you FMR River Guardians, Water Action Day participants and everyone who joined in our efforts to stand up for clean water this session!
Learn more from our Legislative Updates blog and join us for happy hour, Tuesday, June 27 to recap the session with the FMR Capitol Crew and discuss what's next.
Environment bill becomes law: What’s in & what’s out?
The Minnesota Legislature's original environment bill was one of the most sweeping anti-environmental bills to advance at the Capitol in many years. Luckily, it was vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton on May 12. So what made it into the final bill that the governor signed on May 30? Some rollbacks, no water quality progress, but not the worst provisions were removed during final negotiations with the Dayton administration.
Sigh... Environment bill signed. Legacy funds shifted.
We're pretty sure that when Minnesotans passed the Legacy Amendment, this isn't what they — what we — had in mind. Just signed by Gov. Mark Dayton, the environment bill shifts voter-mandated conservation funds to administrative costs. Thank you to all the River Guardians who tried to prevent this, we look forward to inviting you to happy hour soon to recap the session.
Where the Legislature stands on water & the environment in its final week
This 2017 Legislature has featured a series of sweeping assaults on our environment, including widespread rollbacks to bedrock environmental finance and policy positions that threaten to undermine water quality and river health throughout the state. Here's where things stand.
Gov. Dayton vetoes awful environmental bill! (But another is on the way.)
Friday, May 12, Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a historically bad omnibus environment bill. It sought to give polluters the right to write their own environmental impact statements, slashed funding for environmental agencies and even prevented cities from banning plastic bags. In short, it threatened to undermine Minnesota’s long tradition of protecting the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Stand with FMR at the Governor's Residence - May 15, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Come show your support for clean water! Join us in front of the Governor’s Residence at 1006 Summit Avenue, St. Paul. Feel free to bring signs, family and friends. But please RSVP if you can!
Dennis Anderson (Star Tribune): Separating fact from fiction about Minnesota's buffer law
Dennis Anderson, the longtime outdoors columnist for the Star Tribune: "Misinformation is rife about the state's buffer law, passed two years ago to clean up lakes and rivers, which requires farmers and other landowners to be in compliance with the statute by November."
Star Tribune op-ed: Major state companies need to disavow Chamber's harmful environmental agenda
A commentary in the May 5 Star Tribune co-authored by longtime FMR Board Member Peter Gove highlights major Minnesota companies that tout their environmental credentials while funding Chamber of Commerce legislation to roll back bedrock environmental protections for Minnesota's lands and waters.