ST. PAUL, MN—Last week in a hearing of the House Agriculture Finance Committee, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture signaled plans to release the text of the Governor's proposed nitrate rule on Tuesday, April 24. They also indicated that the rule would be entered into the State Register on April 30, which would mark the start of the rulemaking process.
Reps. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, Chair of the House Agriculture Finance Committee, and Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, Chair of the House Agriculture Policy Committee, applauded the scheduled release of the nitrate rule, but renewed calls the Governor to pause for input prior to its formal entry to the rulemaking process. On April 12, the two chairs wrote in a letter to Governor Dayton that they "view this as an opportunity for a course correction, and a chance to avoid the same mistakes that led to the recent buffer APO mess," and encouraged the administration to hold additional meetings on the text of the rule "prior to it entering the formal administrative process..."
"The Governor has an opportunity to pause and seek input from farmers and legislators, and help Minnesotans feel like they have a voice in the process," said Rep. Hamilton. "A little bit of engagement with farmers and stakeholders now can help save the administration time and hassle—rather than a contentious rulemaking fight, let's work to build consensus on the best path forward."
"We appreciate the farmers, agriculture groups, and lawmakers that raised their voices and helped to secure the release of the nitrate rule prior to the end of session," added Rep. Anderson. "Transparency and input are critical to this process, and to repairing the strained relationship between the governor and the agriculture community."
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