Clean energy and protections for the environment are among the priorities this session for Minnesota lawmakers this session, who convened at the Capitol this week for the start of the 2024 session following a 2023 session that featured the passage of historic climate and environmental investments and policies.
Lawmakers passed a $115 million state competitiveness fund to help secure matching federal dollars for climate and energy projects, as well as policies such as a 100% clean energy grid by 2040 requirement and millions in grants and rebates for solar panels, heat pumps and electric vehicles.
The Legislature also sent a constitutional amendment to the ballot in 2024 for Minnesotans to vote on renewing the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which has funded 1,700 projects since 1991 via state lottery proceeds. The program is set to expire next year but would be extended to 2050, if passed by voters.
“Last year was a once in a lifetime with investments in environment and climate,” Rep. Rick Hansen, chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, said in an interview. “But part of the role of the Legislature is to see how that’s going, to do oversight on implementation, but also follow up with additional policy where it’s needed.”
Here are some potential environmental priorities on the docket for lawmakers this session:
Related: MinnPost guide to the 2024 legislative session: marijuana fixes, sports betting, no new spending
Boundary waters protections
A few days ahead of the start of session, DFL lawmakers Sen. Kelly Morrison of Deephaven and Rep. Sandra Feist introduced legislation aiming to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) and its watershed by banning four high-risk practices used in sulfide-ore copper mining.
The bill would follows guidance from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources that identified four features of sulfide-ore copper mining that pose a high risk of pollution to the Boundary Waters: Waste Tailing, Reactive Waste Rock, Heap Leaching and Smelting. The legislation would prevent mining upstream in the Rainy Rivers Headwaters watershed, which would have disastrous effects on a larger ecosystem that is protected by state and federal regulations.
“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness is the beating heart of our state’s a source of clean water, a haven for wildlife and a legacy that we have a duty to protect for future generations,” Feist said during a news conference last week. “This common sense legislation would place into statute critical restrictions around sulfide-ore copper practices that we know for a fact would pollute as ecological and recreational gem.”
Clean energy and transportation
Peter Wagenius, legislative director for the Sierra Club’s North Star chapter, said in an interview the group is hoping to get in front of lawmakers is the creation of a state program to automate the permitting process for solar panels to make rooftop solar more accessible and faster to install. Another is a bill aiming to hold larger utilities accountable by preventing companies from using certain dollars collected from ratepayers on lobbying, executive compensation and advertising for the fossil fuel industry.
Legislation establishing a low carbon fuel standard could show up after a work group convened by the state’s Agriculture, Commerce, Pollution Control and Transportation agencies released a report last month. A minority report issued by the Sierra Club and three other groups criticized the report for incentivizing biofuels, which they say are proven to not reduce emissions.
“Undoubtedly, there are people who are interested in exploring it with the best intentions,” he said. “As we get the word out, about their business plan and the influence they have over the state agencies. I think the prospects for that bill will just continue to drop.”
Pollution, wastewater treatment
Over the past several years, the Legislature has continued to build on legislation banning the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are now not allowed in cookware, cosmetics, cleaning products, dental floss, ski wax and upholstered furniture, among other items.
Hansen said he anticipates more PFAS legislation on the horizon in his committee. He’s also expecting a package related to nitrates seeping into and contaminating groundwater after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined in November that the state needs to take action on the contamination. As stakeholders across the state submit requests to lawmakers who will spend this even-year session building an infrastructure package, wastewater treatment plants will likely be among the requests.
Mohamed Ibrahim
Mohamed Ibrahim is MinnPost’s environment and public safety reporter. He can be reached at mibrahim@minnpost.com.
