December 2023 Newsletter
In this edition of MCEA’s Environmental Monitor:
- See everything you helped achieve this year!
- Find out what your support means to MCEA
- Catch up on the latest PolyMet news
- Take action: demand Governor Walz say no to PolyMet’s permit application
- Find out why MCEA staff were testing for lead in Minneapolis soil
- Discover five ways MCEA is ensuring Minnesota answers the call of the climate crisis
- RSVP to our January PFAS “forever chemical” townhall
- Apply to our Policy Advocate position for this legislative session
- Trivia: what state labels PFAS as a contaminant in fertilizer?
A note from CEO Kathryn Hoffman
MCEA is entering a new era, and we’re inviting you to join us.
We have a landmark anniversary just around the corner. 1974 was a big year for the environmental movement, and it also happens to be our founding year. As tempting as it is to simply look back on a half-century of work, this moment requires us to look forward. We need to maximize the attention that our threatened environment is getting and flex our strategic muscle.
A new year offers both promise and challenges, but I see tremendous opportunities. We’re digging into the surging need to hold industries, individuals and government systems accountable. Side-by-side with our supporters, we’re ready to meet the demands of this moment, using both legal and scientific levers as agents of change.
We’re also gaining momentum - in 2023, more than 325 new donors joined the fight for a thriving future by making their first-time gift to MCEA. I invite you to join the legions of MCEA supporters and partners because after 50 years, we’re just getting started.
.jpeg)
It’s been a busy year for MCEA. Check out our year-end wrap up to get the highlights and find out how your actions made it possible!
From the drinking water crisis in southeastern Minnesota to air pollution in South Minneapolis, we’ve been working across the state to protect Minnesota’s environment and people’s health. This round-up is a quick glimpse into what MCEA supporters make possible.
.jpeg)
The Minnesota Court of Appeals this month ruled that the MPCA’s air permit for the PolyMet mine complies with Minnesota Rules. In this case, which wended its way through the courts for five years, twice landing in the Minnesota Supreme Court, we argued that PolyMet intends to operate a much larger mine than detailed in its application and therefore should be considered a “major” source of air pollution. (“Major” sources are required to have additional pollution controls.) But the court held that Minnesota law does not require the MPCA to consider a business’s future intent when issuing an air permit.
The impact of this specific decision is minimal given all our other successful challenges to PolyMet’s dangerous sulfide mining proposal. Today, PolyMet continues to find itself in the same position it’s been in since the first of its flawed permits was suspended by a court - unable to advance.
“The PolyMet proposal as permitted five years ago is all but dead and three major permits have been sent back to the agencies that issued them,” says Jay Eidsness, MCEA’s attorney who argued the air case. “It’s time for our state government to take a hard look at what the proposed mine really means for Minnesota’s environment and the health of its people.”
Read what else Eidsness had to say in our full press release, and coverage of the decision by the Star Tribune.
Then take action below!
.jpeg)
Over 500 people have already told Governor Tim Walz to follow a judge’s recommendation and deny PolyMet’s permit to mine application. This is a very important decision that could be the final push we need to get this risky proposal out of our state. Governor Walz was not in office when permits were issued to PolyMet five years ago. But his state agencies now have to decide what to do with permits rejected by the courts, including the Department of Natural Resources “permit to mine.” It’s on his desk, so tell him what you think.
Email Governor Walz and tell him to deny PolyMet’s permit application. We made it easy!
Congratulations to MCEA’s Lawyers of the Year
Last week, Minnesota Lawyer announced the 2023 Attorneys of the Year. Four of MCEA’s own were honored for their work under the pro-bono category for their years of work on the PolyMet water pollution permit. This is the case where we won a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court decision in August rejecting the water pollution permit for failing to meet Minnesota’s laws and concealing US EPA concerns about the permit from the public.
Congratulations Joy Anderson, Ann Cohen, Jay Eidsness and Kevin Reuther and thank you to the other lawyers who worked on this case. We were joined in this award by Paula Maccabee from WaterLegacy, and William Pentelovich, Margo Brownell, and Evan Nelson from Maslon LLP.
We also send our congratulations to the other recipients of awards, especially the team who helped win the East Phillips Roof Depot site in Minneapolis.
The concept for the 100% Carbon-Free Electricity Law was visionary, some even thought it impossible. But Minnesota is rich in advocates who are serious about rising to the challenge of combating the threat of climate change. At the same time, we always knew that the passage of the bill was just a step, and that critical decisions would follow in implementation at the Public Utilities Commission. Now, our lawyers are on the frontlines fighting to ensure the 100% Law achieves its promise to transform electricity generation in Minnesota.
Click here to read about five other things we’re doing to make sure Minnesota is doing its part to combat the crisis.
.jpeg)
Photo top left: a read out from the rapid soil tester. Photo top right: MCEA Legislative Director Andrea Lovoll recording results. Photo Bottom: Several MCEA staff and representatives from UMN, Hennepin County, and EPNI testing soil across from Smith Foundry.
MCEA Staff Take Rapid Lead Tests in East Phillips
This month, after cutting through a lot of red tape, MCEA staff, the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI), and scientists from the University of Minnesota obtained a permit and took rapid test samples behind the Smith Foundry in Minneapolis to check for lead. Nearby residents were concerned about lead levels after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered the foundry was operating with a broken filtration system.
We know if we’re going to stop the pollution in this neighborhood we need proof of where it’s coming from. Neighbors have complained about the acrid, metallic smell for decades. But the community hasn’t been listened to, so we’ll need to document pollution to bring a winning legal case. People living in the neighborhood fought against pollution in their community before and they will continue to organize. We’re ready to use our knowledge of legal, legislative, and regulatory strategies to support that fight.
Although we found low levels of lead in this limited sample, which was a relief to neighbors, more testing needs to be done. We stepped in to coordinate this testing because people wanted immediate answers, but more comprehensive testing is work for MPCA and Smith Foundry must do.
That’s why MCEA is calling for more testing in the neighborhood. Every resident in the area should know whether or not their property is safe.
.jpeg)
Join MCEA, Clean Water Action, the Minnesota Well Owners Organization, and The Midwest Farmers of Color Collective in St. Cloud at the St. Cloud Library Mississippi Room on January 20th at 10:30 am.
The townhall will focus on PFAS "forever chemicals" and how to protect farmland, well water, and residents. Our Water Program director, Carly Griffith will be there to discuss results from our advocacy report on the presence of these chemicals in biosolids–a product produced in the wastewater treatment process that is applied as cropland fertilizer across much of Greater Minnesota. In states from Montana to Michigan to Maine, the land application of biosolids has been tied to PFAS contamination of soils and groundwater. It’s time for us to address this issue here in Minnesota.
We’re excited to connect with more supporters in the area about this important issue. The event is free to attend and you can register here.
MCEA is looking for a temporary full-time Policy Advocate during the 2024 Legislative Session to be a key team member for our Legislative Program.
Our ideal candidate is passionate about community engagement, and dedicated to the work of environmental justice, climate justice, water advocacy, and improvement of public health through environmental advocacy.
Click here for full position description and information about how to apply.
Know someone you think would be a good fit? Please share this opportunity with your networks!
.jpeg)
Which of the following states require biosolids - the solid waste collected from waste-water treatment plants - that are spread as fertilizer on farm fields be labeled with the warning “may contain PFAS” ?
a) Wisconsin
b) Vermont
c) Minnesota
d) Hawai'i