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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

Contact

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

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June 2025

Friday June 27

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Agrivoltaics Field Day
Friday June 27
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Agrivoltaics Field Day
West Central Research and Outreach Center, 46352 MN-329, Morris, MN 56267, USA

Join University of Minnesota Extension for presentations and solar site tours at the West Central Research and Outreach Center. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the benefits, considerations and opportunities of farming using solar energy. Session topics include cattle and sheep solar grazing, solar site forages, grain crops under solar panels, and solar developer perspectives. Register here. Can’t attend the field day? Check out the July 22 agrivoltaics webinar on growing forages and grains.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Wednesday July 9

8:00 am – 10:00 am
Risk to Resilience Climate Cohort
Wednesday July 9
8:00 am – 10:00 am
Risk to Resilience Climate Cohort
Online

Farming has always required adaptability, and today’s changing weather patterns are creating new challenges and opportunities. The Land Stewardship Project, in collaboration with University of Minnesota Extension, has created a resilience-focused program that gives commodity and small grain growers the opportunity to join a cohort with other like-minded farmers and learn how to prepare their operations for the future. At this Risk to Resilience cohort, you will learn:

  • How changing weather patterns in the Upper Midwest are likely to affect your farm. 
  • How you can prepare a plan that protects your farm from a changing climate.
  • How to improve your planning skills and meet with experts for opportunities to grow climate resilience  on your farm.
  • How to build community with fellow farmers interested in creating operations that are sustainable and resilient in the long term.

Program Details:

  •  Online format — join from your home or farm.
  •  Four sessions, 10-15 hours total investment — built for busy schedules, beginning July 2025. We’ll pause workshops for small grains harvest and resume in August 2025.
  • A $250 stipend will be provided to participants who attend the sessions and provide feedback on experience and content.

Dates of the Risk to Resilience Sessions:

  • Wednesday, July 9, 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
  • Wednesday, July 16, 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
  • Harvest Break
  • Wednesday, August 20, 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
  • Wednesday, August 27, 8 a.m.-10 a.m. 

To register, click here. 

12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
LSP Lewiston Office Summer Potluck Lunch
Wednesday July 9
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
LSP Lewiston Office Summer Potluck Lunch
Land Stewardship Project, 180 E Main St, Lewiston, MN 55952, USA

Spring planting is behind us and midsummer is upon us! Take a quick break from all the action by celebrating summer with the Land Stewardship Project by joining us for lunch at our Lewiston office.

Our Summer Potluck will be held on Wednesday, July 9, from noon to 2 p.m., at our office in downtown Lewiston, Minn. (180 E. Main Street). This will be an opportunity to build community, hear from other farmers, socialize, and enjoy a great meal together. We also invite everyone to take a self-guided tour of the newly renovated spaces in our office that we have been working on over the winter. As a member-driven organization, this is your space too.

LSP will be providing the main dish (meat and vegetarian options) and we invite you to bring a dish to pass. This event is open to all, so please bring a friend or two as well. Let’s celebrate the joy of summer through good food and good company!

RSVP’s are encouraged, but not required. Hope to see you there — you can RSVP by e-mailing LSP’s Alex Romano direct.

Saturday July 12

10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fishing, Farming & Food: Rush Creek's Fish Kill Anniversary & Why it Matters
Saturday July 12
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fishing, Farming & Food: Rush Creek's Fish Kill Anniversary & Why it Matters
Farmers Community Park, 23274 Arches Road Lewiston, MN 55952

During the Fishing, Farming & Food: Rush Creek’s Fish Kill Anniversary & Why it Matters event, the Land Stewardship Project will mark the three-year anniversary of a major fish kill in southeastern Minnesota that spawned citizen action and led to new public policy around how such events are reported. Join Land Stewardship Project and our partners at Farmers Park, Saturday July 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Lewiston, Minnesota. Register here.

What to expect?

  • Fly fishing demonstration led by Minnesota Trout Unlimted and LSP member, Lee Stoe. Please bring your own fishing gear.

  • Minnesota Trout Unlimited & Izaak Walton League staff and members will be leading macroinvertebrate sampling of Garvin Brook and discussing what they tell us about the health of the stream.

  • Discussion on how regenerative farming systems can support healthy soil and clean water.

  • Opportunity to take action! Help prevent future fish kills by sharing how you think the Minnesot Feedlot Rule, which is open for comment through July 22, should be stronger. Postcards will be available to fill out and send with your comments.

  • Farmers Park is a great spot for birding. Please bring your binoculars!

  • You are welcome to bring your own snacks or picnic lunch; food will not be provided at this event.

LSP is partnering with several community groups for this event, including:

Minnesota Trout Unlimited, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Izaak Walton League, Food & Water Watch, and Savanna Institute

Register HERE. For more information, contact LSP’s Kate Rowe at krowe@landstewardshipproject.org.

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