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agriculture

Multiple bills undermine state drinking water protection authority

We can all agree that clean, safe drinking water should be accessible and affordable for everyone regardless of geography or income. Unfortunately, no fewer than five bills have already been introduced this session that undercut state authority to protect public and private wells from contamination through the 1989 Groundwater Protection Act. >>

February 27

Support clean-water crops, invest in Forever Green

Don Wyse shows silphium plant

We’re working with partners to ensure that clean-water crops — perennial crops that hold the land in place, reducing runoff of river pollutants like nitrates and phosphorous — can offer a viable alternative to traditional agriculture for Minnesota farmers. Without a shift in agricultural practices, our state won't be able to meet our clean water goals. (Photo courtesy of the Walton Family Foundation)

We’re working with partners to ensure that clean-water crops — perennial crops that hold the land in place, reducing runoff of river pollutants like nitrates and phosphorous — can offer a viable alternative to traditional agriculture for Minnesota farmers. Without a shift in agricultural practices, our state won't be able to meet our clean water goals. FMR's biggest legislative priority in the coming session is to secure full funding for Forever Green.  >>

Proposed MN nitrate rule fails to protect drinking water

row crops and water tower

Annual crops planted in rows, like corn and soybeans, are treated with nitrate fertilizers that are increasingly ending up in Minnesotan's drinking water. (Photo by Weekly Grist, Joe Dempsey.)

We can all agree that clean, safe drinking water should be accessible and affordable for everyone regardless of geography or income. Sadly, that’s not the case for many Minnesotans.

Nitrate used in cropland fertilizer is a leading source of drinking water contamination in Minnesota. Although essential for plant growth and health, excess nitrate harms aquatic life and human health and drives the formation of the “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. It's also extremely costly to Greater Minnesota communities.

That’s why FMR is working with our conservation allies to strengthen a new Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule – one of the few places in state law where regulators can require row-crop farming operations, the biggest source of nitrates, to reduce pollution to our waters. >>

October 6

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.

by Trevor Russell
June 1

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. 

by Trevor Russell
May 12

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