Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership
It might feel easy to take water access for granted in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Yes, we face droughts, and some communities have faced water restrictions or boil-water advisories, but having mighty rivers like the Mississippi and the Minnesota watering our land and Lake Superior at our doorstep can make us forget how fragile our water supplies truly are.
For many rural Minnesotans who rely on private wells, clean drinking water is often anything but a given. In areas like Southeastern Minnesota, where the geology of the land makes it easy for pollutants to infiltrate groundwater, nitrate from agriculture has seeped into aquifers and created a large-scale public health crisis. Nitrate in drinking water contributes to birth defects, cancer, and other dangerous medical conditions.
The good news is, this year has seen significant steps toward progress on this issue.
Last month, a district court judge cemented a commitment by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Agriculture to do more to tackle nitrate pollution. This agreement resulted from a lawsuit by MEP member groups Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Trout Unlimited, and Minnesota Well Owners Organization to make sure state agencies honored their agreement with the federal EPA to take stronger action.
Among the positive steps the MPCA has taken is working to update the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which outlines steps Minnesota can take to reduce nitrate and phosphorus pollution from entering our waters. MEP was encouraged to see that the MPCA’s draft update included a significant focus on “continuous living cover” or CLC cropping systems.
CLC crops include perennials, like intermediate wheatgrass (also known as Kernza®) that remain on farmland all year round, and winter annual crops that can be alternated with traditional row crops like soybeans. These crops help build healthier soil and keep nutrients out of groundwater and streams, reducing nutrient pollution while producing usable products that farmers can harvest and sell. CLCs are not the only piece of the nitrate reduction puzzle, but we can’t get anywhere near our goals without them. MEP shared that perspective and other recommendations in our comment letter on the Nutrient Reduction Strategy earlier this year.
The MPCA also collected comments during the summer on updating its animal feedlots rule, which governs livestock operations across the state. The large concentrated farming operations, where thousands of animals are kept in close proximity, are disproportionately likely to sit within a mile of a vulnerable groundwater area. Their manure – approximately 48.9 million tons of it, in 2024 – has to go somewhere, and it’s usually deposited on nearby fields, where excess nitrate and phosphorus infiltrates the ground or washes off into local streams.
Updating the animal feedlots rule has the potential to reduce nitrate pollution of Minnesota waters and the feedlots’ impact on climate change. MEP, like many other environmental groups, submitted a letter arguing for key improvements on behalf of our members.
If state agencies start to change the way we manage agricultural pollution in Minnesota along these lines, we’ll have a much stronger chance of seeing real improvements in our drinking water and downstream waters. Minnesota’s environmental community will be working to make sure they follow through.