Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota
Clean Water Legacy
Ensuring Clean Lakes, Rivers and Streams for Minnesota
Problem
Minnesota - the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Our lakes, rivers and streams make Minnesota a great place to live. We enjoy our water for fishing, boating, and swimming and we rely on some of our lakes and rivers for our drinking water.
Minnesota should have clean, healthy lakes, rivers and streams throughout the state. Unfortunately, Minnesota's water is not as clean as it should be. Of the small fraction of lakes and rivers tested, over 40% are polluted. Our water is contaminated with human and animal waste, algae from too much phosphorus and other pollutants.
Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 to protect and restore our water and to ensure it is safe for swimming and fishing. Under this policy, states must test our water, identify polluted lakes, rivers and streams and develop restoration plans to ensure adequate clean-up takes place. Without these plans, businesses and communities across the state face major restrictions on development and growth.
Solution
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has estimated that testing and restoring all of our lakes and rivers will cost $270 million per year. We must act now to protect our water.
The Minnesota Legislature needs to pass a true Clean Water Legacy by fully funding water protection and restoration at a minimum of $100 million a year. These funds are the minimum needed for preparation of clean-up plans for polluted water, implementation of clean-up plans until the water is restored, full testing of Minnesota's lakes and rivers every ten years and protection of clean water.
Flawed language from the 2006 version of Clean Water Legacy needs to be repealed. If this section of statute is left intact, it will actually encourage more water pollution. The language provides the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency with a loophole to allow additional pollution by pointing to an unrelated pollution reduction in the same watershed. Clean Water Action supports trading programs that reduce pollution. We do not support "offsets" which are an after-the-fact excuse for allowing more pollution.
Clean Water Action Alliance and our allies urge the 2007 Legislature to appropriate $100 million for FY2008-2009 and to ensure full funding in the future for Clean Water Legacy. In addition, the "offsets" language enacted as part of the 2006 bill needs to be repealed, as it creates a loophole which allows more water pollution.
Clean Water is not a Democrat or Republican issue; it is a Minnesota value.
Take Action
Contact your state Senator and Representative. Urge them to fully fund the Clean Water Legacy bill and eliminate the "offsets" loophole. To find your legislators, call 651-296-0504 (Senate), 651-296-2146 (House), or use the legislature's DistrictFinder tool.
You can leave a voicemail message with your Legislators anytime, day or night. It only takes a minute to leave a brief message and make a big difference for clean water.
