Mississippi River Critical Area bill passes state legislature

After two years of study and five months of hearings and negotiations, the Mississippi River Critical Area Reform Bill has passed the Legislature and will be presented to Governor Pawlenty. The bill directs the DNR to conduct a public rulemaking process to include establishing new districts and standards that better match the geographic character of the river. Read more about the critical area bill in FMR's web fact sheet.

Because there is such a backlog of legislation right now, the official presentment may not occur for a week or more. Once it does occur, the governor then has three days to sign the bill, veto the bill, or sign it with line-item vetoes of specific appropriations.

The critical area legislation is a small part of the Clean Water Land and Legacy Bill (HF 1231), which includes millions of dollars for clean water, outdoor heritage, parks and trails, and arts and cultural programs. Since this bill allocates constitutionally dedicated funds for these purposes, an outright veto is extremely unlikely. As a result, the policy portion of the critical area bill is virtually veto-proof. However, a line item veto is possible for the $500,000 appropriation to the DNR to conduct rulemaking for the Mississippi River Critical Area.

FMR is asking members and other interested citizens and groups to contact Governor Pawlenty to urge him to support the appropriation to the DNR to conduct rulemaking for the Mississippi River Corridor critical area. Last week, seventeen groups from the Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP) signed on to a letter to the Governor urging his support.

Please visit our "take action" page on the bill for more information, suggested talking points, sample letters and links to Governor Pawlenty's contact info.

Stay tuned for another post and keep your fingers crossed!