By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Monday, the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus unveiled “Minnesota Can-Do Climate Actions,” a package of bills to invest $191.5 million from the projected state budget surplus in one-time spending into Minnesota communities for clean energy, clean transportation, and conservation efforts. Last week, we wrote about how Minnesota can… Read more »
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Last week, we offered a brief preview of the Legislature’s work in the 2020 session, which began on Tuesday. One of the crucial aspects of this session is its traditional status as a bonding year. Bonding allows the state to borrow money to finance capital projects – mostly including new infrastructure… Read more »
Photos © iStockphoto.com/BrianLasenby By Emily Levang, Environmental Writer. Originally posted at Ensia. Around the world, communities are using “Rights of Nature” laws to defend waterways, species and more from human threats February 4, 2020 — A great blue heron walks slowly on long legs. A loud splash just might signal the presence of an endangered… Read more »
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Tuesday, February 11, the Minnesota Legislature will begin its 2020 regular session, which is scheduled to run no later than May 18. The shorter, even-year session is traditionally a bonding year, in which the Legislature will consider funding capital investment projects across the state. With the need for… Read more »
photo credit: Andy Pearson, MN350 By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Yesterday, dozens of Minnesotans gathered at the Minnesota Senate Building for a rare event – the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) directly took public comments on the Line 3 oil pipeline proposal. As we wrote last week, the PUC is considering whether to reissue the Line… Read more »
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership This Friday, January 31, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will hold a public comment hearing on the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline replacement. This hearing will inform the PUC’s decision on whether to grant the oil pipeline a Certificate of Need and a Route Permit, both of which are required before the project… Read more »
Decision on PolyMet, bill to protect BWCAW are encouraging signs By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals dealt a breakthrough victory to tribal and environmental advocates, reversing Department of Natural Resources (DNR) permits for the PolyMet mine. The Court determined that questions about PolyMet’s safety, finances, and ownership merited… Read more »
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership On Friday, Governor Tim Walz announced a proposal to leverage $300 million in state bonding dollars to upgrade and replace water infrastructure across Minnesota. This program, which would require passage by the Legislature in the coming session, would focus on helping Minnesota communities deal with the mounting costs of… Read more »
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership – (@mattjdoll) On Tuesday, Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann ordered that a forensic search be conducted on the computers of former top Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) officials responsible for overseeing the PolyMet mine permit process. The search will involve the physical collection and investigation of those computers to find… Read more »
By Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership – (@mattjdoll) This week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced that for the first time, it had completed an assessment of all the watersheds in Minnesota, and released a draft list of lakes, streams, and rivers considered impaired, which increased in number by 581. This includes about half of all… Read more »