MCEA lawyers and policy experts are valued resources for legislators and other decision makers, and the depth of our expertise uniquely positions us to advance environmental protections through legislation. We carefully craft bills before they’re introduced to ensure maximum environmental benefits. And we’re frequently consulted by legislators during session to help resolve complicated issues that arise in deliberations. MCEA also serves as the legal and policy advisor to many coalition efforts, including those to pass a clean cars standards and mining legislation, and other organizations often rely on us to handle the complex task of drafting bills to achieve policy goals.

MCEA played a central role in passing Clean Water Legacy, funding the Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, and securing passage of the Transportation Funding bill in 2007 over the governor’s veto. Each of these successes took years of advocacy, coordination, and strategizing. MCEA was there every step of the way.

At the midway point of the 2010 session, MCEA and its allies have successfully stopped an effort to repeal the 1994 moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. The bill to further protect children from lead in the environment has passed out of the House committees and awaits action on the floor. The Complete Streets bill, with Fresh Energy as the lead organization, is moving smoothly through the committees in both houses.

A bill to strengthen the state's financial assurance, or damage deposit, for new sulfide mines received three hearings in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee but was pulled by its author, Sen. Jim Carlson, just before a vote. Still, the hearings allowed MCEA and Friends of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to educate the committee and the public about the pollution dangers of this new type of mining. It also allowed MCEA a chance to discuss the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine and the problems environmentalists and federal agencies noticed in that document

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Legislative Team

Our seasoned staff boasts years of legislative experience. Legislative Director Allison Wolf served as nonpartisan Senate Counsel for almost 12 years and has lobbied for the Nature Conservancy. Advocacy Director Paul Aasen served in the Department of Public Safety for eight years and as Governor Jesse Ventura’s policy director for more than two years. MCEA’s Board and legislative committee brings additional expertise, with two former state legislators, Gene Merriam and Dee Long, former House Research staffer, John Helland, and Chuck Dayton, the first environmental lobbyist for Project Environment Foundation, MCEA’s predecessor.

In the 2009 session, MCEA is launching a project to more carefully track legislation that may adversely affect the environment. Called the Environmental Defense Team, the effort uses volunteer law students to review every bill introduced in the Minnesota legislature. This careful review will enable MCEA and other advocates to identify problematic bills and bring them to legislators’ attention.

Bill to Protect State's Waters from Mining Pollution is Introduced

A bill introduced Thursday in the Minnesota House and Senate would protect Minnesota's taxpayers and lakes, rivers, and groundwater from the toxic pollution of sulfide mining.

Martha Brand: Less pollution, more jobs

Coming at us is the new, green, recession-fighting machine.

Barack Obama has promised repeatedly that much of his stimulus package will go to developing a green economy, one that puts people to work and stitches together an infrastructure that rewards energy-efficiency, renewable energy and cutting global warming pollution.

Superwarmer leakage rates now online

Now, for the first time anywhere, car buyers can check two Minnesota government Web sites to find out which automobiles leak the most air conditioning fluid, which contributes to global warming.

No new nukes still the right choice in Minnesota

 A bill to allow new nuclear power plants was introduced in the Legislature, even though no Minnesota utility has plans to build one. The problem is, not one single thing has changed since the moratorium was passed in 1994, and if anything, the problem is worse.

Martha Brand: Wrong time for new nukes

Lifting the Minnesota nuclear power moratorium now is a bad idea, MCEA's executive director Martha Brand said in an opinion piece published April 10 in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, 

Aasen touts Clean Water bill as it passes major senate committee

MCEA's Paul Aasen told a capitol news conference Tuesday that he and a diverse group of organizations were pleased with the CLean Water Legacy funding bill that passed from committee.

New clean water bill is good channel when new tax dollars flow

Increased sales tax money from the constitutional amendment starts flowing July 1 and new bill puts it in the right projects.

At Last: Mining bill hearings at Legislature this week

The MCEA-backed financial assurance bill for sulfide mines receives its first Senate hearing this week.