Monday's meeting of the Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee considered HF3260, a bill that would gut wild rice quality standards in favor of the needs of the mining industry. The MPCA opposes the bill and its Senate companion, SF2983.
The senate companion will be heard this morning (Tuesday) in the Committee on Finance. Streaming audio of the hearing is available here beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was limited in its ability to comment about the legislation in earlier hearings, according to a letter MPCA commissioner has shared with the appropriate environmental committee chairs and leads, as well as the Ways and Means committee chair and members. We assume that it will be shared with the senate committee hearing as well.
The key objections to the bills from the agency? Stine writes:
SF2983/HF3280 prevents the MPCA from using sound, verified science to effectively and efficiently protect wild rice – a critical Minnesota resource. Furthermore, the legislation would:
- Short‐circuit the administrative rulemaking process and stop the current wild rice rulemaking activity (which was undertaken at legislative direction);
- Waste the significant investment of state resources in understanding the science of sulfate impacts on wild rice;
- Nullify the existing federally‐approved wild rice sulfate standard, setting up a conflict between state and federal law that would undoubtedly be the source of litigation;
- Jeopardize Minnesota’s delegation of Clean Water Act program authority from the U.S. EnvironmentalcProtection Agency (EPA); and
- Exacerbate the existing regulatory uncertainty around the standards that apply to water quality discharges.
Here's the letter:
Wild Rice Legislation Letter 4-9-18 posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
Photo: People harvesting wild rice.
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