In Republicans go 'slash and burn' on Minnesota's parks, environment funding, City Pages' Hannah Jones reports:
The people taking care of Minnesota’s parks, wildlife, air, and water aren't thrilled. The Minnesota Senate's Republican majority has unleashed a budget that reverses the state's historic devotion to the environment, slashing funding by 25 percent.
She's writing about SF2314. which we looked at in MN Senate omnibus environment and natural resources bill expands commercial turtle harvest two days ago and March 20, 2019's A tale of two bills: a story of the next environmental trust fund raid revolution?.
But Jones has gotten the larger story here, and we urge our readers to take a careful look at the City Pages story:
Some programs will feel the burn more than others. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) faces a 17 percent cut. The Board of Water and Soil Resources, which protects water quality in lakes, streams, and wetlands, could lose 39 percent. This at a time when farm chemicals have made water in whole swaths of southwest Minnesota too toxic for swimming and fishing.
Minnesota Environmental Partnership Director Steve Morse testified before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee last week. He spent a dozen years on that same committee as a Democratic senator from Dakota, and was commssioner of the DNR under Gov. Jesse Ventura. He believes agencies will have to rely on fines and fees to compensate for lost revenue, punishing the very people they're supposed to serve.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will get a major cut to its work cleaning up the St. Louis River and Duluth Harbor, both of which are still "highly contaminated" by nearly a century of dumping by wastewater plants, paper mills, lumber companies, and more. And that cut will be effectively doubled due to the loss of matching dollars from the feds.
The GOP's budget will also shift the burden for the agency's funding to the party's biggest ally, business, since it will need to levy more fees and fines to stay afloat. Under this scenario, a major polluter like Water Gremlin in White Bear Lake would suddenly become a good thing -- in a perverse sort of way.
It's accused of releasing high levels of a toxic chemical into the air for years. As Commissioner Laura Bishop put it, “I don’t want 10 more Water Gremlins to fund our agency.”
The DNR may have to reduce how long parks can remain open and staffed. Camping and other services would be eliminated in at least 30 parks, and campgrounds would remain closed during the "shoulder season" from Labor Day to Memorial Day.
There would also be fewer inspectors to look for invasive species, like zebra mussels. These tiny European bivalves have been hopping from lake to lake since 1992, filtering nutrients out of the water and reproducing "into the millions," as the Star Tribune put it. They're killing off native fish and infrastructure like water pipes.
The Minnesota Zoo may have to cut staff and reduce conservation projects, like protecting pollinators. Zoo staff aren't sure yet where they'll have to trim in order to fit into the new budget, but they guarantee visitors will feel the loss.
Chair Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria) didn’t respond to interview requests. Ironically, his district is among the state's most reliant on fishing, resorts, and outdoors vacationers.
The attack is a far cry from Gov. Tim Walz's plan to bolster the environment. His original proposal included $109 million for the DNR to care for buildings, waterways, parks, and roads, plus $25 million to the Minnesota Zoo.
Several of his proposals -- including investments in recycling, cleanup of contaminated drinking water in Burnsville and Savage, and money for chronic wasting disease in deer -- disappeared entirely from Republicans' budget.
It's an even further cry from the House version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Rick Hansen (D-South St. Paul). ...
That's the omnibuzz bill we reported about in Omnibuzz: pollinator hater Draz derides effort to name rusty patched bumble bee state bee.
Will the Republican Senate succeed in shortcharging Minnesota's beloved outdoors, water and parks, as well as the state's wild deer herd? It's worth watching for Minnesota readers--and contacting their state senators.
There's no buzz in this bill.
Photo: A whitetail deer. There's no money for dealing with CWD in the wild herd in the Senate version of the environment and natural resources budget bill.
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