Bluestem had posted a couple of articles in March about the possible restoration of a form of the Citizens Board to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Bills to restore Citizens Board of the MPCA working their way through Minnesota legislature and Notes on one company that "fled Minnesota" because of onerous environmental regulations.
But in Monday's floor debate of the omnibus environment bill, that language was stricken in an amendment offered by the author of the bill, House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee Chair Rick Hansen, South St. Paul--DFL.
This story was originally published by MinnPost, and I find it to be helpful for understanding the legislative process and the sort of compromises that are sometimes necessary to pass an ambitious agenda.
Later today, Bluestem will publish a digest of other news articles about the Minnesota House's passage of the environment, natural resources, clean energy and climate action omnibus bill.
DFL nixes Citizens’ Board, narrows environmental justice bill after intra-party split with Greater Minnesota lawmakers
By Walker Orenstein, MinnPostDemocrats who control the Minnesota House on Monday muscled through a historically large budget plan for environmental spending on a party-line vote.
But first, DFL lawmakers had to strip one of their major priorities from that bill — reviving a Citizens’ Board to oversee pollution permits — and water down several measures, like an environmental justice policy meant to address the long-term impacts of contamination.
It was an unusually public last-minute change, and it drew discontent and disappointment from many Democrats. But a few of their colleagues from Greater Minnesota insisted on the changes amid criticism that the legislation would be a roadblock for economic development and critical industries like mining and agriculture.
“We had four Democrats from Greater Minnesota who refused to vote for the bill unless those changes were made,” said Rep. Rick Hansen, a South St. Paul DFLer who chairs the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee.
The episode illustrated the limits on DFL ambitions for new environmental regulations.
The party has full control of the Legislature and is overwhelmingly made up of urban and metro-area lawmakers who support tougher rules on pollution. But there are just enough Democrats in the House and Senate from rural areas to tamp down some of the party’s ideas that proved controversial among business interests and some DFL allies like the building trades.
In a few cases, Democrats have struck a compromise by applying regulations only to urban areas, including big regional centers in Greater Minnesota, but exempting most rural areas.
What Democratic leaders wanted to pass
Democrats have plenty of common ground on environment policy and spending, but one idea that split the party was the push to revive the Citizens’ Board that once handled permits for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
State lawmakers axed the board in 2015, ending a 48-year run for the panel and handing greater power to the commissioner of the agency. The board’s supporters said it was eliminated because the members voted to make a large dairy farm go through more extensive environmental review.
And with full DFL control of the Legislature, progressive environmental organizations wanted to reinstate a new version of the board. They argued it would lead to more independent oversight of the industry and a more transparent and trustworthy permitting process.
Republicans and large agriculture trade groups disagreed. Opponents said the board was simply a vehicle for environmentalists to unfairly stop projects, circumventing scientists and MPCA regulators.
The measure was included in Hansen’s omnibus bill, at least until the floor vote on Monday. Also in that large omnibus bill was the environmental justice policy aimed at limited cumulative impacts of pollution.
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