ST. PAUL – House and Senate resolutions to delay the adoption of a new nitrogen rule, which would further regulate the use of fertilizer, were formally published Monday.
The new ruling put forward by Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration impacting the application of fertilizer has raised significant concerns in the agriculture community. While formal implementation the rule is not scheduled to occur until 2020, the Legislature invoked Section 14.126 of state law, effectively pausing the rule to allow the next Legislature to further examine the issue during the 2019 session.
“We all want clean, safe drinking water and it is false to assert this action would deprive Minnesotans of that precious resource,” said House Agriculture Policy Committee Chair Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck. “The fact is, there are a number of concerns over this rule that still need to be addressed. The ag. community still has questions regarding how fertilizer application would be impacted. Also, there are strong feelings in the Legislature that a rule such as this should be subject to legislative oversight instead of being unilaterally implemented by the administration. Farmers are good stewards of our land and water and deserve to be treated as such.”
The resolutions may be found on pages 1,544-1,545 at https://mn.gov/admin/assets/SR42_50%20-%20Accessible_tcm36-341923.pdf.
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