Back at the end of July, Bluestem Prairie posted Nitrates in Southwestern Minnesota water: 'Do not give the water to infants' in Ellsworth.
In Jennifer Bjorhus's article in the September 1 Star Tribune, Little action so far on plan to enlist farmers to clean up polluted groundwater in Minnesota, there's this backstory:
In 20 communities around Minnesota, the drinking water supply is so contaminated with toxic nitrate from farm pollution that the state has the obligation to change the way farmers fertilize their fields.
Yet four years after the state adopted its Groundwater Protection Rule, the Department of Agriculture has produced plans to help only three of those communities. One of the 17 waiting for action is the southwest Minnesota town of Ellsworth, which had to warn residents in July not to give the tap water to infants because of a spike in nitrate.
In interviews, Department of Agriculture officials acknowledged the slow start to the new drinking water strategy. There's significant background work that goes into the new action steps, and the pandemic delayed crucial in-person meetings with farmers, who must carry out what the state recommends, said Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen.
Petersen said he's confident the three action plans will cut nitrate pollution. The department is making progress building trust with farmers to change their ways to benefit water, he said.
"This is, to me, a nation-leading effort to address nitrate in groundwater," said Petersen. "We're moving on it. I know it's not going to be fast enough for the environmental groups."
The completed action steps target a 60,000-acre watershed for Hastings, the Dakota County seat; and much smaller areas affecting Adrian in Nobles County in southwest Minnesota; and Verndale in Wadena County west of Brainerd. All three have been forced to spend millions to install treatment systems to keep nitrate in their tap water below the current health standard of 10 milligrams per liter.
Hastings may have to add another treatment plant to keep nitrate levels in check. Ryan Stempski, the city's public works director, said he's not sure what impact the new farmer plan will have — or when. He said he feels like the city is on its own. The regulation of the ag industry is "just not in our control."
The plans are based on what farmers can achieve with so-called "best-management practices" designed to maximize crop production with the least fertilizer to help cut the nitrogen leaking away. Environmental groups have long argued they are heavy on farm economics and light on protecting water. The practices are also voluntary, with no prospect of mandatory action for three years or more. And they don't include valuable alternative practices to cut nitrate, such as planting cover crops.
Environmental leaders said the three action lists are inadequate, and the lag time is leaving too many communities at risk.
"Disappointing and a raw deal for the public," said Jamie Konopacky, a Milwaukee environment lawyer who worked for years on Minnesota's nitrate contamination. "It is too slow and too small to protect water and public health." , , ,
Read the rest of the mess at the Star Tribune,
Photo: This nitrate removal system had been in use in Ellsworth for almost 25 years, according to a 2016 Worthington Globe article. Barry Amundson/Forum News Service/Worthington Globe.
Related post
- Nitrates in Southwestern Minnesota water: 'Do not give the water to infants' in Ellsworth
- Commentary from MinnPost: Can the state control nitrates in Minnesota waters?
- Minnesota Department of Health isn’t properly enforcing drinking water law, and kids will suffer
- Jean Wagenius: For climate and clean water, state agencies need Walz to lead
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