MCEA May Newsletter 2023
In this edition of MCEA’s Environmental Monitor:
- MCEA’s long history at the legislature
- A win for clean energy infrastructure
- Join the call - Petition the EPA to to intervene in drinking water crisis in SE Minnesota
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The Hmong American Farmers Association Farm protected from highway expansion
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MCEA urges further environmental review for mining waste expansion on the North Shore
- Join MCEA at our three-part Environmental Law Series
- Minneapolis' biggest polluters told ‘Enough is enough’
- Congratulations to EPNI - A community vision finally funded
Photo: (left to right) MCEA Legislative Director Andrea Lovoll, Chief Strategy Officer Aaron Klemz, and Policy Advocate Dr. Jen Fuller at the Governor's bill signing event at the Capitol Wednesday, April 24th.
50 years ago, present day, and 50 years into the future
at the Legislature
In 1973, MCEA’s co-founders, Chuck Dayton and John Herman, helped lead a landmark legislative session. That year gave us the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), among 13 other foundational environmental policies, that Governor Wendell Anderson signed into law.
MCEA’s long history wouldn’t have been possible without those laws that protect the health and ecology of Minnesota. Many of these laws form the backbone of the legal strategies to protect all of Minnesota from pollution. From the Boundary Waters to communities overburdened with pollution - we’ve been there guarding our rights to clean water, air, and Minnesota’s natural resources since 1974.
Nearly fifty years later, MCEA once again found itself at the forefront of the successful push for long-needed legislative action this last session. We hope that fifty years from now, we will look back on this year with the same awe at the enormity of work accomplished, and the reverberations it sent across both our state and the nation.
Minnesota is a leader in protecting our clean water and air because our people care. We build coalitions, we hold our representatives accountable, and we put our collective future first. MCEA is always grateful to add our expertise to that work.
You can read more about what we helped accomplish this legislative session here. Or watch a recap from our dedicated legislative team in this webinar.
MCEA turns your generosity into victories
for our environmental future
We have much to celebrate this year, from helping shape legislation that’s a model for the nation, to holding PolyMet’s polluting plans at bay, and so much more. Even as we tally the victories of the past year, we’re preparing for the litigation and challenges that our fledgling laws and wins are already attracting.
Donations from individuals like you are critical - not just in achieving these wins, but in protecting our landmark victories as the nation’s eyes turn to the bold environmental course Minnesota is charting.
Our fiscal year end is coming up on June 30.
Help us close out this monumental year with a donation to MCEA, because together, we are having a powerful impact on Minnesota’s future.
Join the call for clean drinking water in Minnesota’s karst region
No Minnesotan should have to worry about what’s in their water. That’s why MCEA and ten other environmental groups filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late April asking the federal agency to intervene in the growing public health crisis facing Minnesotans in the Southeastern portion of the state. Nitrate levels linked to industrial agricultural practices routinely exceed safe limits in the karst region, putting the health of thousands of residents there at serious risk.
We need your help to keep the pressure on. Add your name to our petition today to join the call for immediate action on the drinking water crisis in the karst region.
Learn more about the crisis, what’s causing it, and how decision makers can help fix it here.
Graphic: a map illustrating the number of renewable generation sources the Cardinal-Hickory Creek line will connect
A step forward for clean energy - Court upholds approval
of key transmission line
Transmission lines are a key component of building clean energy infrastructure. Without these power lines, the energy from solar and wind can’t reach us. Thousands of renewable energy projects throughout the country are just waiting for approval to connect to the grid, all because there’s no way to move the power they collect.
This is why MCEA litigated for three years to support the construction of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Line. You might notice the line is in Wisconsin and Iowa, so why was MCEA so committed to making sure the project was approved? It’s because Minnesota’s power grid is not an island – we’re interconnected with energy from across the region. The Cardinal-Hickory line is the last piece of infrastructure needed to connect dozens of power sources and move that power east through the Midwest. This will create more reliable and lower cost access to clean energy. It also opens up opportunities for building more renewable generation projects in Minnesota, which means more jobs, and it will help keep us on track to meet our 100% carbon-neutral energy goals in 2040.
Read about the history of MCEA’s involvement in this important infrastructure for clean energy here.
Photo: an aerial shot of the HAFA Farm
A big win for a sustainable farm
Supporting sustainable agriculture is important to MCEA’s vision of a Minnesota where clean water and air, healthy ecosystems, and a sustainable economy are accessible for everyone. That's why when the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) was slated to lose a large part of their farm to a new highway interchange proposed by Dakota County, we were excited to use our expertise in court and at the Legislature to help support farmers that provide so much to the local food economy. HAFA offered MCEA new insights about how to approach solutions to complex community problems and deepened our relationship to a key member in the agricultural community.
You can read more about our partnership and its impact in this blog post by MCEA’s Healthy Communities Advocate, Mainhia Thao. Through joint advocacy efforts, increased visibility of the issue, pressures of potential litigation, and a raised profile in the legislature, Dakota County decided to drop the proposed highway interchange construction at the HAFA Farm. And, as part of this last historic legislative session, our team secured permanent protection for the HAFA Farm through a new law signed by the Governor last Wednesday. We also secured $2.4 million dollars to expand the farm and install an underpass for HAFA’s farm equipment, improving safety for the farm and traffic on Highway 52.
MCEA's free Green Beagle CLE series is back!
First installment is June 27th.
We're excited to bring back our three-part Continuing Legal Education (CLE) series — The Green Beagle — for 2023. The free series will consist of two online sessions and culminate in an in-person half-day session this fall.
MCEA's free CLE series is geared towards lawyers but anyone seeking a deeper dive is welcome. Our first session — exploring legal tools to protect drinking water from nitrate pollution — will take place June 27th at 12:00pm.
Click here to learn more & RSVP.
MCEA urges full review of proposed mine tailings basin expansion
three miles from Lake Superior’s North Shore
MCEA and our partners carried on a 40+ year legacy of advocacy to keep taconite mine waste out of Lake Superior this month. We are urging the DNR to conduct a more thorough environmental review of Northshore Mining Co.’s proposed expansion of the already massive “Mile Post 7” tailings basin, which is located 600 vertical feet above Lake Superior and three miles from its shore. This 2,150-acre lake filled with mining waste was started back in the 1970’s when Reserve Mining was ordered to stop dumping waste directly into Lake Superior.
The DNR’s preliminary environmental review has a major flaw – it fails to consider the risks or effects of a dam collapse at the tailings basin. If the old and unstable dams fail, decades of mining waste could rush downhill toward Lake Superior, resulting in severe environmental effects and negating the entire reason for the tailings basin’s existence.
Thanks to everyone who took action with us to ask the DNR to prevent potential catastrophe at Mile Post 7 and protect the health and safety of Lake Superior and North Shore communities.
Minneapolis approves nation-leading zoning ordinance
that will better protect communities from pollution
On Thursday, May 25th the Minneapolis City Council voted to adopt a City-wide land use rezoning for the first time in nearly 25 years. As part of that vote, the Council approved a code amendment that prohibits the expansion of several categories of high polluting facilities. This amendment reflects the comments submitted by Community Members for Environmental Justice (CMEJ), MCEA, and people who are affected by polluting industries. Because these polluting industries have been concentrated in neighborhoods with people who are low income earners, or who are Black, Indigenous, or from other communities of color, this is a necessary action on the part of the city to stop further harm.
The new zoning code includes several major provisions adopted in response to CMEJ’s and MCEA’s recommendations and sustained advocacy, including a mandatory 1⁄4 mile setback between places people live and any new high-impact polluting uses.
You can read more about the new zoning, as well as CMEJ and MCEA’s comments in our joint press release.
Congratulations to the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI)
After a decade of community organizing for an indoor farm centered in community, sustainability, and environmental justice in a neighborhood long overburdened by pollution, the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute has reached a deal with the City of Minneapolis to buy the Roof Depot site. Acquiring the site was necessary for the neighborhood to realize its indoor, urban farm vision. Supported with funds from the state legislature, this community led development will now become a reality. Keep up-to-date with this visionary project here.