Legislative Update – October 4, 2023
Dear neighbors,
I hope you all get the chance to come out to On The Road Again, our annual fall festival and World Championship Booya cook-off coming up this weekend. There will be great events for all ages, like the chalk art competition, live music, and giant car show. I will be volunteering to help with the Booya World Championship and pickle contest! You can find more information here.
Odor Regulation Law
This week, MinnPost published a detailed article about our communities’ efforts to pass odor laws last session. The bill I authored defines objectionable odors and allows the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to intervene when residents complain and instruct companies to create a management plan. This is a common occurrence in our district, as I said in committee, and is quoted in the article, “I would also invite you all to my district in the summer, maybe on an 80- or 90-degree day.”
Our communities have been pushing this for years and I am glad the bill was passed this session. As Newport Mayor Laurie Elliott says in the article: “I’m very happy that we have some legislation that gives some control to not just our residents but residents of any community around any odor-producing business that affects quality of life,” Elliott said. “That affects your ability to be outside in the summer, to ride bikes, to garden, to play, to take your kids to a playground.”
Local Projects Funding
We have had a string of good news as cities in our district are being awarded funding to help improve our communities.
After getting some questions about the large dirt pile in SSP, I learned about some great work by the city in clean-up and economic development. Fill material is being staged for the cleanup of the former wastewater treatment plant site, and the city received a $1.3M Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) contamination/clean-up grant, $3M in federal economic development initiative grants through the Housing and Urban Development department, and a preliminary development agreement.
I also received word that the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority approved financing for the construction of a new drinking water treatment plant in our district, as well as a grant received from the Redevelopment Grant Program to fund improvements to Wakota Crossing. It is great to see local, state, and federal partners coming together to fund projects in our area!
MRLC Conference
This week I am traveling to New Orleans to speak to the Mississippi River Legislative Caucus about our ongoing efforts to protect our river, our water, and our environment as a whole.
I will be leading a legislative wrap up of our work this past session in Minnesota, where we passed the largest investment in protecting our environment in state history. This bipartisan conference will include presentations from state and federal partners as well as nonprofits like the Audubon Society. I’ll have more to share next week!
Stay in Touch!
Please continue to share your questions, ideas, and feedback throughout the legislative session. You can reach me by email at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-6828. You can contact my Legislative Assistant Sam O'Neill at 651-296-3305 or via email at Samuel.ONeill@house.mn.gov.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative