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Legislation to Reinstate MPCA Community Board gets 1st Hearing in MN Senate March 9

Citizens’ Board Was Eliminated after Ordering an EIS on a Factory Farm

March 8, 2023

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A bill to reinstate a key body for allowing Minnesota residents to have a say in the future of their communities’ environmental health will be considered during a legislative hearing on Thursday, March 9. The Senate State and Local Government and Elections Committee will consider the reinstatement of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) Citizens’ Board, beginning at 12:30 p.m., in Room 1100 of the Minnesota Senate Building in Saint Paul.

In a highly controversial move, during the final hours of the 2015 Minnesota legislative session the 48-year-old MPCA Citizens’ Board was abolished without a single hearing. The Board’s elimination was prompted when its members ordered an Environmental Impact Statement be done on a proposal that would have expanded the state’s largest factory dairy operation. Land Stewardship Project (LSP) member Jim Riddle, a farmer from Winona, Minn., who was a member of the Citizens’ Board when it was eliminated, plans to testify on March 9 to let legislators know that rural people want the Board back.

“The MPCA Board is critical to having accountability in our government,” said Riddle. “The Board created a space for democracy in action — where every voice can be heard, in full daylight, to protect Minnesota’s environment and ensure our laws and regulations are being followed.”

The MPCA Citizens’ Board was established when the MPCA was created in 1967. Made up of eight members of the general public and the MPCA Commissioner, the Board had legal authority to make final decisions on environmental review and permitting of industrial projects, including factory farms. The Board had the power to overturn agency decisions and it made its decisions in a public forum where citizens were welcome to testify.

Legislation to reinstate the Board was introduced earlier this session by Rep. Kristi Pursell (DFL-Northfield), who is the vice chair of the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, and Sen. Foung Hawj (DFL-St. Paul), who is the chair of the Senate Environment, Climate and Legacy Committee. The bills are House File 2076 and Senate File 1937. House File 2076 has 20 co-authors and Senate File 1937 has three co-authors, including Sen. Erin Murphy (DFL – St. Paul), who is the chair of the Senate State and Local Government and Elections Committee, and Sen. Aric Putnam (DFL – St. Cloud), the chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, and Broadband Committee.

Also making the trip March 9 to testify in support of the reinstatement bill is LSP member and livestock farmer Beth Slocum of Welch, Minn. As a local farmer, Slocum joined her neighbors in Goodhue County to organize and protect their community from a conglomerate of factory hog operations in their community that was seeking to expand. In 2017, Slocum and her neighbors conducted a five-week study monitoring hydrogen sulfide emissions at the property boundaries of six livestock facilities in Goodhue County. The results showed that the operators were likely exceeding health risk values set by the Minnesota Department of Health at four of the facilities. Following the study, then MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine committed to both short- and long-term monitoring of some of the facilities. However, a permit was issued for the expansion and no continuous monitoring took place.

“Since the abolishment of the MPCA Board, there is no avenue for checks and balances on agency decisions, the public lacks opportunities to meaningfully make our voices heard and agency decisions have become increasingly opaque and undemocratic,” said Slocum. “By reinstating the MPCA Citizens’ Board, communities like ours will have recourse when the agency isn’t serving us well.”

The reinstatement legislation would also require that Board membership include an enrolled member of a Tribal nation, a small-scale farmer, a member of a labor union and three members who are Black, brown, Indigenous, or low-income and live in an “environmental justice community.” An “environmental justice community” is a neighborhood, composed predominantly of persons of color or a substantial proportion of persons below the poverty line, that is subjected to a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards and/or experiences a significantly reduced quality of life relative to surrounding or comparative communities. The MPCA estimates that 50%-60% of projects permitted by the agency are located in environmental justice communities. The legislation would also require that the board, in reviewing projects, consider whether there has been free prior and informed consent via government-to-government consultation with Tribal Nations.

“Communities that bear a disproportionate amount of environmental, health and economic impacts by industrial projects deserve to have a real place at the table,” said Nazir Khan of the Environmental Justice Table. “Reinstating the Board will ensure the MPCA is prioritizing Minnesotans, rather than corporate polluters.”

The effort to reinstate the MPCA Citizens’ Board is supported by more than 50 agricultural, environmental, faith, labor and social justice organizations from rural, urban and suburban communities in Minnesota.

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Category: News Releases
Tags: citizen democracy • factory farm • local control • Minnesota Legislature • MPCA Citizens' Board

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Amanda Koehler, LSP policy manager, 651-431-1117, e-mail

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August 2025

Friday August 1

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Early Bird Discount Deadline for LSP's Farm Beginnings Class
Friday August 1
Early Bird Discount Deadline for LSP's Farm Beginnings Class

Beginning and prospective farmers are invited to apply to the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course, a year-long training program that focuses on the goal setting, marketing, and financial skills needed to establish a successful farm business. The Farm Beginnings course creates a space for folks to name their vision, acquire the tools and skills needed to make it happen, and become part of a community of support to help them succeed.  

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The deadline for applications is Sept. 1. Early bird applications submitted by Aug. 1 will receive a $100 discount if you are accepted into the class. Partial scholarships are available.

More details are at http://www.farmbeginnings.org or Annelie Livingston-Anderson at annelie@landstewardshipproject.org.

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Roots & Rotation Grazing Field Day
Friday August 1
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Roots & Rotation Grazing Field Day
22545 Co Rd 42, Richmond, MN 56368, USA

Roots and Rotation is a summer field day series happening across Minnesota. These field days will discuss the use of livestock for soil health goals in different agricultural systems. 
 
Learn about the benefits of integrating livestock onto cropland and how to make it work on your operation. Hear from experienced farmers and Extension educators specializing in crops, livestock, and soil health. These events are for producers looking to elevate their cropland soil health and increase their forage resources. 

For more information and to register, see the Minnesota Grazing Lands Conservation Association website.

Saturday August 2

10:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP Small Grains Field Day/Networking Event
Saturday August 2
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP Small Grains Field Day/Networking Event
Madison Mercantile, 601 1st St, Madison, MN 56256, USA

Building on the momentum and popularity of the Land Stewardship Project’s Small Grain Markets Workshop in Albert Lea, Minn., this past winter, we are offering a second free networking event in western Minnesota on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Madison, Minn. All those curious about small grains are welcome.

We will hear from two western Minnesota farmers who have found success in growing and marketing small grains: Noreen Thomas of Doubting Thomas Farms and Peter Haugen of Sandhill Mill. Additionally, Gilbert Williams, a longtime grain mill operator and small grains procurement expert, will walk us through the processing side of the business. Lunch will be provided.

You can reserve a spot here. 

For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski 
at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sea of Grass 'Prairie Walk & Author Talk'
Saturday August 2
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sea of Grass 'Prairie Walk & Author Talk'
Lac qui Parle State Park, 14047 20th St NW, Watson, MN 56295, USA

 Join LSP for a book reading and Q & A with Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty, the authors of Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redepmtion of Nature on the American Priaire, at Lac qui Parle State Park. Prior to the book reading, we will go on a guided prairie walk to learn firsthand about the great Minnesotan prairies. Through the event, we will gain an understanding of the history, present, and future of the land and ways to work towards building more sustainable and just food and farming systems that protect our natural ecosystems. You can read a review of Sea of Grass in the current Land Stewardship Letter.
 
To reserve a spot, click here.
 
Schedule: 

  • 3 p.m. – Guided prairie walk with prairie naturalist Amy Rager  
  • 4:30 p.m. – Sea of Grass book reading by authors Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty     
  • 5 p.m. – Q & A with Dave and Josephine   
  • 5:30 p.m. – Discussion and reflection  
  • 6 p.m. – Dinner 

Camping will be available at Lac qui Parle State Park. LSP has reserved a Group Camp Site which is in the lower area of the park and can accommodate up to 50 people. Only tents are allowed — participants will need to bring their own tents and supplies. There is no electrical hookup; water spigot and vault toilets available. Please let us know via the event registration form if you plan to camp at the Group Camp Site.

For more information, contact LSP’s Melody Arteaga at marteaga@landstewardshipproject.org.

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