The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will fund the installation of as many as 38 “fast-charging” stations across the state – from Fairmont in the south to Warroad on the Canadian border.
The ruling comes out of a lawsuit brought by a coalition of environmental nonprofits and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which had accused the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency of trying to bend rules to suppress criticism from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Though plenty of DFLers in northern Minnesota support two copper-nickel mining projects proposed for the region, PolyMet and Twin Metals, Jen McEwen says Duluth residents have pent-up demand for a “more progressive politics.”
The agency is using money from the state’s share of a $2.9 billion settlement the federal government reached in 2016 with Volkswagen over the German car maker’s violation of emissions standards.
The woodlands next to Camp Ripley, part of a landscape area designated for protection from development, promise to provide a wealth of hiking, canoeing and other outdoor pursuits.
Without state money, University of Minnesota researchers have turned to an unusual source to finance the project: crowdfunding.
The state’s largest utilities are planning to phase out most of their coal-fired plants by the end of the decade.
Tim Nolte’s irrigation proposal has become a highly charged, if small, part of a larger and ongoing debate about corporate farming, growing methods and the future of family farms.
The study looked at nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter – types of pollution that can cause several health issues, including cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological illnesses.
From forests and farms to our own backyards, there’s a lot we can do to reduce future risks of pandemic outbreaks.
Since the coronavirus pandemic has shut down many other activities, parks in Minnesota have seen record numbers of visitors.
“It was nice to see that they gave us a lot to work with,” said Joseph Sullivan, the utilities commissioner who first floated the idea for sped-up projects in May. “They really stepped up.”
Over the past three years, the HCWP has garnered about 25 percent of the federal funds that have been granted to watershed agencies in Minnesota – money those groups use for drainage ditches, embankments, rain gardens and other projects designed to protect local waters.
MPUC Commissioner Joseph Sullivan challenged the state’s major energy companies to speed up the completion of projects that could put people to work.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has agreed to review concerns about its permit for the Enbridge Line 3 project after four groups and 16 individuals petitioned the agency for a “contested case hearing.”
The bill requires that any meeting at the Minnesota Capitol of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, which recommends millions in state spending on conservation projects, must be streamed live and archived online.
One bill poised to pass the Legislature would overhaul a program requiring utilities to slash energy each year; another would spend more than $60 million on clean energy projects.
Biden never addressed the Line 3 or Twin Metals projects during his presidential primary campaign, and he has continued to avoid taking a stand since becoming the likely Democratic nominee.
“There’s misapprehension among scientists and the public that natural ecosystems are the source of threats to ourselves. It’s a mistake,” said scientist Richard Ostfeld. “Nature poses threats, it is true, but it’s human activities that do the real damage.”
One of the world’s largest freshwater ports is facing a future with far less coal. And while that might be celebrated by environmentalists, it will also have economic impacts across the upper Midwest.
