Via the Star Tribune's Hot Dish Politics blog, J. Patrick Coolican reports in Minn. environmental groups rallying opposition to legislation as session counts down:
. . . The Environmental Partnership says current legislation, attached to environment finance bills in both houses of the Legislature, would politicize regulation by giving lawmakers a bigger say in environmental rulemaking and especially water quality standards and permitting; reduce the role of the Citizens Board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; and exempt non-ferrous mining from solid waste rules, among several other provisions.
A coalition of Republicans and Iron Range and rural Democrats has pressed for the legislation, maintaining that current environmental regulation is overly burdensome and hindering economic growth.
Gov. Mark Dayton has voiced opposition to much of the legislation, the status of which is unclear as House and Senate negotiators and Dayton remain at an impasse over a final two-year budget deal. . . .
As we learned yesterday via a question Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) asked House Environment committee chair Denny McNamara, the ag and environment bills are being rolled into one omnibus bill, but the conference committee handling it has not yet met. See our post about the matter, MN House Republicans were against combining ag & environment finance before they were for it.
What's in the One Giant CF of a Ag & Environmental Finance Bill that has led to such consternation on the part of environmental groups? Coolican writes:
The Environmental Partnership says current legislation, attached to environment finance bills in both houses of the Legislature, would politicize regulation by giving lawmakers a bigger say in environmental rulemaking and especially water quality standards and permitting; reduce the role of the Citizens Board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; and exempt non-ferrous mining from solid waste rules, among several other provisions.
Other than the final item, Bluestem's readers have been alerted of these proposed changes, beginning with the first suggestions of gutting the power of the Citizens Board last November 14 with our post, Co-founder of Senate Rural Task Force (est. 2014) attacks MPCA Citizen Board (est. 1967).
Bluestem would share a PDF of The Environmental Partnership's letter now, except that we're not on the group's press list. It passeth all understanding how we ever know anything.
Photo: A law enforcement officer lifts a stick of soybean oil that spilled into the Minnesota River from a tank at the Honeymead Plant in Mankato in 1963. Following this disaster, the state created the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Time to roll back the clock, a coalition of all Republicans and Range & some rural Democrats say at the request of their special interest friends.
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