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.
Legislation to undermine agency rulemaking adopted in State Government Finance Conference Report
This week, the State Government Finance Conference Committee released its conference report which includes 30 pages of redundant, regressive, time-consuming, and expensive hurdles that agencies must go through in order to adopt or even propose rules to protect our environment, natural resources, health, and safety. These provisions were written by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which characterizes them as "streamlining" the agency process. The reality, however, is that this legislation will result in significant delays and administrative expenses.
Building on a successful Water Action Day
More than 1,000 Minnesotans joined us at the Capitol to urge legislators and Gov. Mark Dayton to invest in clean water and protect Minnesota's great outdoors. Now we're keeping up the momentum with the River Guardians and Water Action Daily.
Pollution Control Agency chief: Anti-environment bills put politics ahead of science
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner recently penned a thoughtful commentary on the threat of anti-environmental legislation moving forward at the Minnesota Legislature this session.
MINNPost: 'Legislature makes a sweeping assault on Minnesota's environmental traditions'
"When people like [FMR director] Whitney Clark and Steve Morse call out the Minnesota Legislature for a 'full frontal assault' on the state’s traditions of environmental stewardship, for an 'unprecedented' trashing of established and accepted practice, it’s time to take notice," writes Ron Meador in MINNPost. We couldn't agree more.
FMR joins letter opposing House and Senate environmental bills
FMR is proud to be a signatory on a pair of letters to the Minnesota House and Senate asking members to vote ‘no’ on the Omnibus Environment and Natural Resources budget bills.