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

  • Air Quality and Environmental Justice Posted last week
    Important new study out of the U of M on racial disparities nationwide in levels of air pollution.  This study's focus is apparently on nitrogen dioxide, but I suspect similar results would emerge if the study included air pollutants like ground-level ozone and fine particulates, or if it used other indicators of socioeconomic status in addition to race.  To the Administration's credit, there is a growing focus in the agencies on pollution disparities and environmental justice, but there is obviously a lot of work to be done.
  • Minnesota groundwater shortage Posted last week
    Minnesota has operated on the assumption that its clean water supplies are virtually unlimited.  Time to get over that.  Minnesota is now facing water shortages in several areas, our current system of water appropriation permits is not up to the challenge, and major reforms are going to be critical.  This will be extremely difficult, because some requests to pump water are going to have to be denied, and the price of water is almost certainly going to have to rise.  Check out MPR's series on the issues; Also take a look at Martin Moylan's report today on entrepreneurs getting ready ...
  • Cost of carbon emissions Posted last week
    Interesting article in Nature this past week on calculating the social cost of carbon emissions, and using those numbers to make policy and business decisions.  The article concludes that the usual numbers--$35-40/ton--are too low because they fail to take many factors into account.   MCEA petitioned the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) last winter to update Minnesota's social cost figures for carbon and other major air pollutants.  The PUC was reluctant, but finally agreed with MCEA's position and now we are in the early stages of that process.  Just to give some perspective, Minnesota's current social cost figures for carbon are ...

Recent News

Recent Posts

  • Judge Rules Parts of MN Next Generation Energy Act Unconstitutional Posted 5 hours ago
    On December 1, 2011, the State of North Dakota and a consortium of out-of-state utilities andcoal interests filed suit in U.S. District Court, challenging the carbon offset provision in the Next Generation Energy Act (“NGEA”), on three primary grounds:   • That it violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution • That it is preempted by the Federal Power Act; and • That it is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act. MCEA and a coalition of regional and national nonprofit allies participated in briefing the case to support the NGEA and presenting argument to Judge Susan Richard Nelson in fall 2013. On April ...
  • MCEA Helps Solar Come Out on Top Posted 2 weeks ago
    For the first time in Minnesota regulatory history, on March 27, 2014, the Public Utilities Commission selected a solar electricity generation project to serve Xcel Energy's forecast energy needs. The PUC determined that the Geronimo solar project was competitive with fossil fuel alternatives, and would serve the public interest in many additional ways, including protecting the environment through use of a renewable technology that does not result in air or water pollution. MCEA intervened in the case to support selection of the solar project - the only project consistent with Minnesota laws to reduce pollution and advance the use ...
  • MCEA Comments on Montevideo WWTF Posted 2 weeks ago
    MCEA submitted comments requesting that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency impose a water quality-based discharge limit for phosphorus in Montevideo’s wastewater treatment facility permit. Current phosphorus levels in the water downstream exceed the state's draft criteria. The draft permit issued by the agency included a limit to protect Lake Pepin, but did not consider the waters immediately downstream from the facility. This was one of the issues that MCEA raised in its petition for corrective action in 2009.

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