It is a fact universally acknowledged that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz chairs the Governors' Biofuels Coalition, while South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is the vice-chair of the 21-member group. Heck, it's even on the coalition's letterhead (screengrab above).
In their official capacity as Chair and Vice-Chair, Walz and Noem (as odd a couple as we've encountered in upper Midwest politics since Minnesota state representatives Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, and Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, teamed up successfully to legalize industrial hemp in Minnesota) have been writing to Trump quite a bit this year.
We grabbed the image from the November 25 GBC Aromatics Letter to President Trump.
But if one only reads Gabriel Lagarde's article in the Brainerd Dispatch, Local lawmakers differ with Walz on Clean Air Act enforcement, one might conclude that South Dakota's ultra-conservative governor is part of a conspiracy to distract Minnesotans from horrible problems the Walz administration is experiencing, like fraud in DHS and (horrors) an attempt to force a healthy environment on unsuspecting Minnesotans:
Local state lawmakers — all of them members of the Republican Party, including Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa — expressed varying degrees of disagreement with the letter. They cited it as an issue of unrealistic and heavy-handed bureaucratic goals, or a distraction from more important problems, such as the developing revelations of widespread fraud and malfeasance in the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
The Dispatch spoke with Gazelka, as well as state Sen. Carrie Ruud, R-Breezy Point, and state Reps. Dale Lueck, R-Aitkin; Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa; and John Poston, R-Lake Shore.
We'll get to the details on their opinions, but first we'll walk through the history of the Walz-Noem letter writing, starting with the most recent letter.
The Grand Rapids Herald reported about the November 25 in December 11's coverage, Govs. Walz and Noem for support of E30:
Recently, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the chair of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, along with South Dakota Gov. and coalition vice chair Kristi Noem, sent a letter to President Trump urging the administration to consider 30 percent ethanol blends, or E30, as a way to reduce toxic aromatics in gasoline.
The two governors cited the Clean Air Act and previous congressional votes as precedents for reducing aromatics. In the years since Congress voted to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce aromatics as much as possible, these compounds are still being used at a high frequency.
“The average gallon of gasoline is composed of nearly 30 percent toxic aromatics in order to increase octane required by today’s engines,” Walz and Noem wrote. “As oil prices have risen, aromatic costs have followed, with consumers paying the price. Aromatics are the most expensive, least energy efficient and most carbon intensive and toxic part of gasoline.
“One practical and cost-effective way to reduce aromatics is to use 30 percent ethanol blends to reduce particulate matter and black carbon emissions by 45 percent, and hydrocarbon pollution by more than 20 percent.”
Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) has long supported increased use of homegrown biofuels, including E30, not just for their positive impact on markets for family farmers, but for its benefits to consumers’ health and savings on gasoline. MFU President Gary Wertish was recently appointed by Gov. Walz to the Governor’s Council on Biofuels for the State of Minnesota as part of this advocacy. The grassroots organization thanks Gov. Walz and Gov. Noem for standing up for the benefits of biofuels.
Sound like a cheerful press release from the Minnesota Farmers Union. Media here in South Dakota reported the state's Farmer Union support in articles like SD Farmers Union Appreciates Governor’s E30 Push with President (WNAX Radio) and SD Farmers Union applauds Gov. Noem-led effort to reduce toxics in gasoline (Aberdeen American).
We learn in the Aberdeen American report that Noem will take over as Chair of the coalition in February 2020.
Past Walz-Noem letters from the Governors' Biofuels Coalition
But that Walz-Noem letter was only the latest epistle to the President. While we're skeptical of the biofuels industry for conservation and soil health reasons, we also think a certain fidelity to the public record should guide reporting.
While there may be earlier letters, we'll start with the September 4 coverage in Twin Cities Business, Govs. Walz, Noem Cry Foul Over Trump’s Ethanol Waivers:
President Donald Trump’s ethanol policies continue to raise concerns in the ag-heavy Midwest.
On Wednesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem crossed party lines to air their concerns about the Trump administration’s ethanol waivers for some oil refineries.
Those waivers relieve small refiners from a requirement to blend ethanol and biodiesel into their fuels. To date, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued 85 ethanol waivers.
In a Sept. 4 letter to Trump, the governors say the waivers are hurting farmers and decreasing the demand for ethanol.
“Every waiver EPA approved affects our states,” Walz and Noem wrote. “We are hearing from farmers and renewable fuel producers that the waivers are the reason an increasing number of renewable fuel plants are closing or idling production.”
In their letter, Walz and Noem stopped short of asking the president to roll back the waivers in their entirety. Instead, they simply asked Trump to help mitigate the waivers’ impacts. That could include initiating a new program that improves consumer access to renewable fuels.
Noem, a Republican, is vice chair of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, while Walz is chair.
Last week, ethanol producer Corn Plus announced plans to shutter its Winnebago, Minn., plant. In a statement, the company cited a “destruction in ethanol demand” among reasons for the closure. . . .
Next media coverage about a Walz and Noem letter sent on October 9? In an article post by the GBC, the Capitol Journal reported in Farmers Unions praise Governors Noem & Walz for support of ethanol industry:
In an Oct. 9 letter, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz outlined a path forward for presidential administration when it comes to supporting the country’s family farmers and the ethanol industry. . . .
In their letter the governors urge the president and administration to hold the Environmental Protection Agency accountable to enforce the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in 2020. The RFS requires refineries to blend a minimum of 15 billion gallons of biofuels, like ethanol. The letter also encourages the EPA to embrace higher ethanol blends, like E30.
Farmers Union leaders said this is a positive step. “President Trump and his administration broke the Renewable Fuels Standard when they permitted an outrageous number of small refinery exemptions. The governors’s suggestions help correct the overreaching activities of the EPA,” said Iowa Farmers Union president, Aaron Lehman. . . .
Walz and Noem are chair and vice chair of the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition. View their letter at https://www.governorsbiofuelscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/GBC-WH-Biofuel-Plan-Letter-Final-10-8-19.pdf.
Not long after this letter, MinnPost's Walker Orenstein reported One issue that unites Republicans and DFLers in Minnesota? Biofuels. Maybe not in the Brainerd area. Or perhaps the messaging geniuses among Minnesota's Republicans no longer fear the wrath of the Ag Mafia leaving ears of corn on the foot of their beds.
That leads us to the Brainerd Dispatch coverage. Here's what some of the area Republicans are saying after the latest letter went out. When it comes to talking energy, these folks are grabbing talking points from far beyond the biofuels issue.
Some are fair enough, though a bit milquetoast:
In an email, Heintzeman stated he wasn’t sure if Walz’s push would pan out, but acknowledged practical changes or advancements in technology could be a boon for environmental concerns.
Heintzeman has repeatedly declined to comment other than by email, citing a discomfort with face-to-face or phone interviews.
“This issue is not one that has received much discussion in the House since I've been in office. (Minnesota) is meeting federal air quality standards and air quality in the lakes area has been good as well,” Heintzeman wrote Thursday, Dec. 12. “I'm not sure that the governor’s letter supporting more enforcement and stricter rules will have the impact they're looking for but if fuel blends can be changed in a way that benefits the environment while still maintaining high quality and affordability it wouldn't hurt to further research the potential benefits.” . . .
Poston said the intentions of the Walz administration are generally solid, but its unrealistic goals may lead agencies to strongarm local residents and municipalities in an effort to meet them. While Republicans and Democrats have similar goals and concerns, he added, they often differ greatly in how to go about making positive steps.
“We’re all concerned about the environment,” Poston said. “Where I differ a little bit with our governor is how quickly he wants to get us to the finish line on some of these things.”
During a phone interview Friday, Dec. 13, Ruud said the issue of gasoline additives and their restrictions is largely a federal one and has little connection to her role as a state senator.
However, in terms of environmental regulations and initiatives, Walz has opted to push his agenda through state agencies and Twin Cities metro-centric task forces, she said, with little collaboration with the state Legislature or members of the Greater Minnesota community.
Whether it’s biofuels or a push to establish an electric car market in Minnesota, Ruud said, it’s been a one-sided discussion.
“This isn’t anything that’s come over our plate at all,” Ruud said. “The governor doesn’t involve us in anything. We’re kinda rocks and cows out here in Greater Minnesota, so he’s putting together task forces and doing climate stuff by rule, but he doesn’t involve us. I didn’t even know he was sending a letter to President Trump.”
We're curious which task force troubles Ruud so much in its metro-centrism. Could it be the new-as-of-September Biofuels Council? At the Hutchinson Leader, Mitch Abraham reported on September 17 in Gov. Tim Walz signs executive order creating biofuels council:
Biofuels were the reason for Gov. Tim Walz’s visit to Plato Monday. He was at the farm of Brian Thalmann, president of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, where he signed an executive order creating a 15-member council to advise him and his cabinet on policy proposals geared toward boosting the reeling biofuel industry in Minnesota.
“We’ve worked together for the better part of a decade and a half on this issue of clean American energy,” Walz said. “The idea of value added in our communities. Innovation, entrepreneurship and opportunities for new markets.”
The council will include representatives from the agriculture, biofuels and transportation industries, as well as from environmental and conservation groups. One of the council’s jobs will be to create a report by Nov. 2020 detailing the best ways to expand the biofuels industry and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state. . . .
Holy stakeholders! How metro heavy did that turn out to be? KEYC-TV reported in November's Governor Walz appoints 15 members to Governor’s Council on Biofuels:
Last week, Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan announced the list of agricultural leaders selected for the Governor’s Council on Biofuels.
Among those appointed was Kevin Paap who was recently re-elected as the Minnesota Farm Bureau president.
Paap said he will continue to connect with elected leaders and consumers through his work with the Minnesota Farm Bureau and he’s honored to expand his efforts with the bureau on the Governor’s Council on Biofuels.
“Certainly Governor Walz, along with the other governors in the Midwest, understand how important biofuels are, not only to the farmers of the state, but the rural communities as well. This will just help put emphasis on the need to grow our biofuels,” said Kevin Paap, Minnesota Farm Bureau president and member of the Governor’s Council on Biofuels.
A full list of Governor’s Council on Biofuels is located below:
- Gary Anderson - Eagan, MN
Michael Bull - Northfield Township, MN
John Christianson - Lake Lillian, MN
Elizabeth Crow - Minneapolis, MN
Tim Gross - Duluth, MN
Chris Hanson - Fountain, MN
Rick Horton - Grand Rapids, MN
- Kevin Lee - Minneapolis, MN
- Lance Klatt - Little Canada, MN
- Jeanne MaCaherty - Prior Lake, MN
- Mick Miller - Morris, MN
- Kevin Paap - Lake Crystal, MN
- Brian Thalmann - Pluto, MN
- Gary Wertish - Renville, MN
- Bob Worth - Lake Benton, MN
The metro ain't what it used to be. We think we'll take a look at these legislators' support or lack thereof for state-level biofuels legislation.
More about the council in Walz launches biofuels council to offset hit to farmers from ethanol waivers from Forum Communications.
Finally, there's this in the Brainerd Dispatch:
Lueck took issue with the topic of restrictions on gasoline additives, describing the discussion as a “cockamamie deal” and irrelevant to north-central Minnesotans while allegations of fraud in the Minnesota Department of Human Services climb over $100 million.
In short, he criticized what he deemed as Walz’s false posturing, or the governor’s propensity to make grand actions on the national stage when he should be concentrating on pressing domestic issues that “directly impact the people of central Minnesota.”
“Frankly, it would be really nice if our governor focused on the 35,000 state employees he has and, in particular, on people in leadership roles in the Department of Human Services,” Lueck said. “He simply needs to stay home and learn how to be a chief executive. He needs to concentrate on his own agencies.” . . .
Gazelka echoed Lueck in his desire to see Walz focus more on Minnesotan issues versus those national in scope. He noted Minnesota is among the leading states in the nation for environmental protections and emissions, while 30% of its energy is renewable. . . .
We're not sure how Lueck sussed out how "cockamamie " it is for governors to be concerned about federal policy that affects agriculture and industry in their states. Perhaps his constituents object because there's no ethanol plants in the area, but we're still baffled that someone decided throwing biofuels under the bus (electric or diesel) was winning politics.
That a long-standing effort to support biofuels is a plot to distract suggests some cockamamie thinking on Lueck's part. We certainly don't think he's looking at Walz's co-conspirator Kristi Noem's concerns about George Soros, nest predators, industrial hemp or meth.
Whatever it is, these folks are on it.
Screengrab: Walz is writing letters to Trump as chair of the Governors' Biofuels Council. South Dakota Republican Kristi Noem is his co-author.
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