Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

Today's Environmental News

Click here to read today's Minnesota environmental news headlines from Environmental Health News.

Court recommends Big Stone II permits be denied

Read the full decision.

Two administrative law judges recommended today that power lines should not be built across west-central Minnesota from the proposed coal-fired plant on the South Dakota side of Big Stone Lake. The decision is a major victory in the fight to combat climate change.

The judges found that the applicant power companies failed to show that demand for electricity could not be better and more cost-effectively met through renewable energy and energy efficiency. The judges also found that the power companies had not adequately considered the costs of global warming pollution. Without the power lines, the proposed Big Stone II power plant could not be built.

Joint Comments on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group Final Report

Read comments on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group's final report.

The authors of the comments write, "As the first and only plan in existence for getting Minnesota to its reductions goals, it would be a shame if this final report were shelved and allowed to gather dust. It would also be a mistake if it were treated as the final and authoritative statement on the policies it recommends or those it rejects."

These comments are part of the ongoing process of evaluating MCCAG's recommendations against emerging realities with the ultimate goal of reducing Minnesota's contribution to climate change.

Comments were jointly prepared by: Barbara Freese (Union of Concerned Scientists), Charles Dayton (Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy), Bill Grant (Izaak Walton League of America – Midwest Office) J. Drake Hamilton (Fresh Energy), and Duke Bascom (Global Green Energy LLC) all of whom were members of the MCCAG, and also on behalf of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Clean Water Action.

A Mother's Day Gift Worth Fighting For: Safer Toys

Ask Gov. Pawlenty to give Minnesota moms the perfect Mother's Day gift: non-toxic baby products!

Many products for children contain toxic chemicals. The Safer Baby Products bills phases out the use of phthalates in products for children three and younger. Phthalates are commonly found in toys, teething rings, bibs and baby toiletry products. They are a particular threat because exposure is widespread and they are well-known reproductive and hormone disruptors.

Children are especially vulnerable to toxic chemical exposure and when it occurs at critical times in their development, it can have life-long impacts on their health. Safer alternatives exist. There is no reason to compromise our children's health.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy is a member of the Healthy Legacy coalition that spearheaded the Safer Baby Products bill.

The bill is on its way to Gov. Pawlenty's desk. Encourage him to sign it!

Act Now: Help make toys and bottles safer for our kids!

Read the Safer Baby Products fact sheet.

Judge orders Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to regulate ships’ discharge into Lake Superior

Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin ordered the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to begin regulating ballast water discharged by ships in Lake Superior to prevent viral hemorraghic septicemia (VHS) and other invasive species from reaching the lake. VHS, a deadly fish virus, is of particular concern because it has been found in every Great Lake except Superior.

Judge Gearin noted that the Pollution Control Agency has known for years that ballast discharge introduces invasive species and is a source of pollutants. With regard to VHS, she stated that “the Court does not believe the MPCA has handled the Minnesota ballast water issues with the urgency that the danger of VHS demands.”

Support expanded critical habitat for Canada lynx

Minnesota’s Canada lynx needs your help! Attend a public meeting being held by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Bloomington April 23 in support of expanded critical habitat for lynx in northern Minnesota.

The Canada lynx, a rare wild cat that roams our northern forests, is barely hanging on. After years of effort by wildlife advocates, lynx were finally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. But on the ground, where it matters most to lynx, protections are still weak.

Kevin Reuther argues Alexandria water pollution case before Minnesota Supreme Court

Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy attorney, Kevin Reuther, argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court Monday that the state improperly issued a water discharge permit to Alexandria for an expanded sewage treatment plant.

The case was brought before Minnesota’s high court on an appeal by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency after the state Court of Appeals ruled against the agency last August. The lower court agreed with MCEA that the permit issued to the plant failed to address severe pollution problems in Lake Winona, violating water quality standards under the federal Clean Water Act.

MCEA victory:Agency orders study of proposed ethanol plant

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s board voted unanimously last week to require a full environmental impact statement on the potential air and water damage from the proposed Agassiz Energy ethanol project in Erskine.
Janette Brimmer, MCEA’s legal director, testified for the impact statement, as did a number of Erskine residents who made the long trip to St. Paul from the northwestern part of the state.
While MCEA does not oppose ethanol, staff has become more concerned that the distilleries, especially those that are corn-based, are using too much of the state’s water, adversely affecting ground and surface waters. In addition, some of the plants, including Agassiz’s, would use coal to run the operation putting large amounts of pollutants in the air and adding to global warming. In short, coal-fired, corn-based ethanol is a negative for the environment.
"I've been in my job for eight years, and this is the first time that the MPCA did what we were requesting," Brimmer said.
To view the full story from the on-line publication MinnPost, click here
www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/03/28/1304/mpca_orders_first_full_impact_review_on_a_proposed_ethanol_plant

Documentary on oil addiction sponsored by MCEA at UM film festival

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy is one of the sponsors of the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health film festival beginning April 7.
The environmental organization is sponsoring the April 7 showing of A Crude Awakening: the Oil Crash, a documentary that examines how our civilization's addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology. Staffers from MCEA also will be at a table beforehand giving out information about the organization.
The movie is free and open to the public. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Mayo Memorial Auditorium of the University's Twin Cities Campus. Different films will be shown through Friday evening.For more information about the festival, including film times and directions

MCEA quoted in Rochester story on Ethanol plants

How much water is used by ethanol distilleries and whether another plant should be built near Eyota, Minnesota were the subjects of a piece in the Rochester Post-Bulletin Sunday.
The thorough piece quoted Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy Legal Director Janette Brimmer to put the issue into the broader context.
"The point is, you are using water and a food crop so that we can drive more," Brimmer said. "Okay, what's wrong with this picture? Let's analyze it and let's find different ways to use less water and that's just the bottom line because this is a nonrenewable resource."
The story comes on the eve of a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency board meeting Tuesday in which Brimmer will be asking for an environmental impact statement on two other ethanol plants that want to burn coal to run the distillery.
To read the full Post-Bulletin story, click here

Visit your D.C. representatives about global warming this month

The group 1Sky, which is pushing for global warming solutions, is asking citizens to visit with their members of Congress while they are home for the Easter recess from March 14-31.

The group's original goal was for 200 district office visits, but already they have over 275 supporters from over 40 states and 160 Congressional districts who have committed to visit their elected officials.

Once you sign up, 1Sky will send you a packet of information on how to do the visit and materials to leave with your representative.

Sign up today to visit your member of Congress in their Minnesota office

The position of 1Sky is that we need to :
* Mobilize America for Solutions: Create 5 million new jobs with a sweeping national mobilization for climate solutions, energy independence, and investment in a new energy economy.
* Secure Our Future: Do what science says is necessary: reduce global warming pollution at least 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050.
* Transform Our Energy Priorities: End development of new coal plants that emit global warming pollution. Pivot boldly away from fossil fuel dependence, and toward a clean energy future.