December 2020 MCEA Newsletter

In this edition of MCEA's Environmental Monitor:

- Event: Community Conversation on Minnesota Power's Integrated Resource Plan + take action!

- A big turnout at Limbo Creek legislative hearing

- Year-end fundraiser: together, with your support, science and law can lead the way

- Legislative update: recap and a look ahead

- MCEA’s JT Haines asks: “who’s an expert on clean energy in Minnesota?”

- MCEA’s Climate Director calls for Stay on Line 3 to protect due process

Are you a Minnesota Power customer? Join us today at 6:00pm to learn how we can advocate for a clean and equitable energy future in Northern Minnesota.

Sierra Club, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, Fresh Energy, and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy are partnering up to host virtual community conversations to reimagine the Northland's energy landscape as Minnesota Power prepares to submit its next Integrated Resource Plan to the Public Utilities Commission on February 1st, 2021. 

Join us today at 6:00pm for an educational, interactive, and action-forward conversation about Minnesota Power's upcoming long-term energy plan and how communities across NE Minnesota can advocate for a clean and equitable energy future. We hope to see you there! 

ACTION: Minnesota Power is developing its energy resource plan (IRP) — speak up for a clean energy future for Northern Minnesota by signing our petition.

A big turn out at Limbo Creek hearing 

Last Monday, a joint House and Senate subcommittee on Minnesota Water Policy heard testimony on the attempts by Renville County to rush the straightening and ditching of a portion of Limbo Creek without any environmental study. Limbo Creek, one of the last free-flowing streams in Renville County, has been at the center of MCEA’s effort to protect over 640 miles of Minnesota waterways stripped from Minnesota’s list of protected public waters in 2017 due to a “procedural error.”

Thank you to supporters who joined us at the hearing. Community members, advocates, and MCEA provided testimony in support of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’s declaration that Limbo Creek is a protected public water. MCEA action takers filled the (virtual) seats — over 70 people attended!

Turnout like this sends a clear message: The public is paying attention. Limbo Creek is a public water. It is time we start treating it like one, and then take further steps to protect the Minnesota River from the erosion and pollution caused by unwise agricultural drainage practices. 

MCEA is taking on climate change on multiple fronts. We need your help. 

The science is clear: we need to be carbon neutral in less than 30 years to avoid the most catastrophic outcomes of climate change. From legislative action to lawsuits, MCEA and our allies are determined to forge a path that makes Minnesota a beacon for climate action in the Midwest.

At this time, as we do each year, we are asking you to join MCEA as a financial contributor during our year-end fundraiser. A growing network of supporters paid dividends in 2020, and more supporters in 2021 will make even more possible.

There is a lot of work to get done in 2021. Together, with your support, science and law can lead the way.

We especially appreciate our monthly supporters. Monthly giving helps us make long-term plans and respond to emerging issues. Please watch this short video from our Chief Executive Officer Kathryn Hoffman and join the club — become a monthly supporter today.

A nearly unprecedented seventh special session concluded Monday evening, and it may seem like the 2020 Legislature never left. But 2021 is coming soon, and with it will be new faces, new needs, a state budget that must be passed, and a fresh start. MCEA is ready to push for climate justice and clean water and defend our bedrock environmental laws, and we need your help.

In early December, new committees and their leaders were announced in the House and Senate. One feature of the House committee chairs is an unprecedented level of women and people of color holding gavels. Rep. Fue Lee (DFL - Minneapolis) is now the chair of the House Capital Investment committee and Rep. Rena Moran (DFL - St. Paul) is the chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Of particular interest to MCEA’s work, there are new chairs of the Climate and Energy Committees in the House and Senate. Rep. Jamie Long (DFL - Minneapolis) takes over for retiring climate champion Rep. Jean Wagenius on the House side, and Sen. Dave Senjem (R - Rochester) takes the gavel on the Senate side. Both legislators have a track record of clean energy work, and we are excited to see how they lead their committees. The House Environmental and Natural Resources Committee will handle both policy and finance this session, and continues to be led by Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL - South St. Paul). 

Changes in how the Legislature conducts business caused by COVID-19 have made it challenging for our legislative team to do its work, and even more challenging for members of the public to have their voices heard at the Minnesota Capitol. Our goal is to give you the tools you need to speak up for climate justice and clean water and defend Minnesota’s bedrock environmental laws. MCEA’s website features actions you can take and resources you can share with your legislators. As bills are introduced at the Legislature, we track them and give you access to the same information we share at the Capitol. Be sure to bookmark our legislative page on the website so you can speak up and make a difference.

MCEA’s JT Haines asks: “who’s an expert on clean energy in Minnesota?”

MCEA’s Northern Minnesota Advocate, JT Haines, responded to an OpEd in the Duluth News Tribune in which an out-of-state pipeline lobbyist called local clean water and clean energy advocates “extremists.” In his response, which was extremely well received by the community, JT posed the question: Who should the paper label an ‘expert’? You can read JT’s full commentary here; In Response: Be wary who the newspaper labels an 'expert'

MCEA’s Climate Director calls for Stay on Line 3 to protect due process

MCEA Climate Director Ellen Anderson was published in the Star Tribune on December 4th calling for the MN Public Utilities Commission to halt construction on Line 3 to protect public health, clean water and a healthy climate - while preserving due process. In her words, “Scientists have testified to the climate and water pollution impacts of an expanded Line 3 pipeline on a new route. State agency energy experts said the pipeline isn’t needed and have asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the decision. If Minnesota values science and the rule of law, courts must be able to review and weigh the evidence.”

Enbridge's plan to rush construction of Line 3 over the next 6 months would make pending appeals moot. It makes no sense for Minnesota courts to rule on a pipeline that is already built. Construction must stop in order to provide due process to Minnesotans who seek to protect water and the climate from the impact of this proposal.

MCEA relies resolutely upon science and the legal system, and we believe the court must stay these permits to allow time for the appeal process to play out. 

Click here to read Ellen’s letter to the editor in the Star Tribune.