Action Alert: Stop the rollbacks in the Senate environment bill [CLOSED]

As the legislative session nears its end, the Minnesota Senate is poised to pass a large environment "omnibus" bill (SF 4499) that includes a laundry-list of rollbacks to the state's environmental protections.

Please contact your Senator today to ask that these damaging provisions be removed.

The Senate's omnibus environment bill is full of concerning rollbacks, including six that specifically target important water quality and groundwater protections and Minnesotans' right to know. The bill also undermines a variety of state agencies and authorities.

Lowlights include:

• Blocking the Clean Cars rule (Section 66): Revokes the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)'s ability to pursue Clean Cars rulemaking, a central part of the state’s climate resiliency strategy.
• 16-year wastewater holiday (Section 60): Grants some industrial polluters a 16-year exemption from complying with any new wastewater standards.
• Groundwater “gag rule” (Section 56): Prohibits agency staff from discussing the state’s Groundwater Management Areas work with the public.
• "Forever" air pollution holiday (Section 79): Allows any industrial polluter exceeding current air pollution limits a free pass as long as it doesn't make changes to its operations.
• Gutting statewide solid waste diversion programs (Section 72): Forces the MPCA to transfer 95% of the annual revenue it receives for landfill abatement to county efforts.

These provisions (and many more) take dead aim at the ability of our state agencies to address important natural resource issues. Tell your Senator: Minnesotans want a clean and healthy environment, not more rollback attempts.

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