About the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA)

Since 1974, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy has been protecting our water, air, land and people.

MCEA works with government agencies, the Legislature, and the courts to set sound environmental policy, to ensure good laws are enacted, and to enforce the law when needed. We are committed to working across all sectors – private and public, profit and nonprofit, political and academic – to form the partnerships needed to succeed. Real environmental issues are complex and real environmental progress takes time. MCEA is in it for the long haul.

 

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Scott's Blog

Recent Posts

  • Carbon capture and storage (CCS) Posted 17 hours ago
    Nice background piece in today's New York Times on carbon capture and storage (CCS).  This is the idea that coal-fired power plants can capture the carbon that would otherwise go out the smokestack, inject it into the ground, and thereby reduce carbon emissions to a level that would meet the new emission standards.   The CCS concept has been around for decades, but it has been very difficult to put into practice, particularly at the scale that would be needed.  In addition, the process is itself energy-intensive, and no one seems to be sure whether the carbon might bubble up out of ...
  • Climate policy polling Posted 1 days ago
    Another set of polling results showing that the American public wants and expects serious efforts at the federal level to address climate change. Many candidates, however, continue to believe that climate is a "third rail" issue, best left unmentioned, too risky because most people are "climate deniers."  That's of course not true, and there are now a few candidates who are making climate a major issue.   Analysis from the League of Conservation Voters strongly supports candidates taking on the climate issue in their campaigns.  We'll see what happens over the next few months in Minnesota. The poll results can ...
  • "Waters of the US" rule Posted 1 days ago
    Dan Gunderson from MPR has a story on the new "waters of the United States" rule proposed by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  This is primarily about federal jurisdiction over wetlands.  Over the past ten years, the  U.S. Supreme Court has imposed restrictions on federal jurisdiction that are very difficult to apply in practice (in part because the Court itself is divided on the issue).  Permits were getting held up while the Corps of Engineers performed "jurisdictional assessments."  So responding to pressure from farm groups, governments, developers, and conservationists, the EPA and the Corps proposed ...

Recent News

Recent Posts

  • Welcome, Cordelia Pierson! Minnesota Environmental Fund's new executive director! Posted last week
    The Minnesota Environmental Fund (MEF) is a state-wide network of 23 of Minnesota’s most respected and responsible nonprofit environmental and conservation organizations, including MCEA, working together to protect, conserve, and restore Minnesota’s environment through employee giving. Recently, MEF announced Cordelia Pierson as their new executive director! Please join us in welcoming Cordelia and read on to learn more about her role at MEF! Press Release: Minnesota Environmental Fund Announces New Executive Director, Cordelia Pierson 7/1/2014  The Minnesota Environmental Fund (MEF), the leading nonprofit that supports giving by employees to organizations that protect, conserve, and restore Minnesota’s environment, has selected Cordelia Pierson as its ...
  • Congratulations to new members of the Legislative Water Commission! Posted last week
    MCEA congratulates the newly-appointed members of the Legislative Water Commission, which was created by the 2014 Legislature. The Senate members are Senators Chuck Wiger, Carrie Ruud, Bev Scalze, Gary Dahms, Matt Schmit, and Roger Chamberlain.  The House members are:  Representatives Peter Fischer, Paul Torkelson, Clark Johnson, Matt Dean, John Persell and Rod Hamilton. All of us at MCEA look forward to working with these legislators in providing the best possible stewardship for Minnesota's waters. The Commission has a broad mandate to review water policy reports and recommendations, secure data and comments through hearings and otherwise, and make recommendations to the ...
  • EPA to Issue New Rule on Sherco Posted 3 weeks ago
    MCEA and its partners settled a lawsuit against EPA this week that could lead to big changes at Sherco 1 and 2, Xcel's large, old coal plants in Sherburne County.  There is so much pollution from the Sherco units that it is impairing visibility in Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters according to findings made by federal land managers.  MCEA's lawsuit alleged that the federal findings triggered a duty for EPA to determine the extent of the impairment and what additional pollution controls are needed at Sherco to eliminate it.  The settlement calls for EPA to issue a ...

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