Environment panel to consider a budget, policy bill with ‘spice,’ sponsor says

Waste not, want not could be the theme of this year’s environment and natural resources finance and policy bill.

The House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee heard multiple proposals aimed at reducing, reusing and recycling. Most focused on limiting pollution caused by landfill leachate or incinerator emissions.

And many of the provisions are included in HF3911. As amended, it includes the Packaging Waste and Reduction Act proposed by Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL-Mpls), which would require producers to be responsible for packaging waste they create. Its passage would make Minnesota the fifth state in the nation to establish an extended producer responsibility program for packaging waste.

The committee received a walkthrough of the bill Tuesday. Amendments are expected to be offered Wednesday ahead of a committee vote.

It is a supplemental bill aimed at clarifying, modifying and rebalancing some of the policies and spending enacted last year, said Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul), the committee chair and bill sponsor.

Several provisions face pushback, including those that would prohibit growing corn on public land, alter the definition of public waters to account for mapping errors, and allow citizens to sue to enforce air quality standards.

“There is spice in this bill,” Hansen said. “Some may not like it, but that’s the way of the world.” He’ll continue to work on the recipe, however.

Spending

The bill calls for $17 million in additional General Fund spending with $8 million going to the Metropolitan Council for community tree grants. There is also money from other funds to plant trees at zoos and in state parks.

Other General Fund appropriations include:  

• $5.5 million to the Pollution Control Agency and $1.3 million to the Department of Natural Resources to cover agency legal costs;
• $1.3 million for the Lawn to Legumes program encouraging the growth of pollinator habitat;
• $400,000 to replace the City of St. Paul Park’s Lions Levee Park pedestrian bridge; and
• $200,000 to investigate reopening the General C.C. Andrews State Nursery.

[MORE: View the spreadsheet]

Policy

The bill includes scores of policy provisions affecting air, land, water and wildlife. Some would:

• establish a task force charged with helping recover and reuse critical materials like cobalt and nickel;
• develop protocols to measure air emissions at 30 facilities whose emissions pose the greatest risk to the environment and public health;
• encourage recovering waste heat from wastewater;
• establish preferred practices for disposing of food waste;
• increase the penalties for violating buffer zone restrictions;
• reduce state agency road salt and nitrogen fertilizer use by 25%;
• require that money raised through the purchase of a special license plate go to that specific fund. For example, license plates with fish would be dedicated to aquatic management purposes;
• ban the sale of mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs;
• require an environmental impact statement for livestock operations of more than 10,000 animals;
• allow using off-road-vehicles only where posted on state land;
• require trappers get permission from homeowners south of Highway 2 before setting a trap; and
• require the DNR to hold a contest for a new state park license plate.

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 What’s in the bill?

The following are selected bills that have been incorporated in part or in whole into the environment and natural resources finance and policy bill:

• HF671 (Lee)
• HF2791 (Pursell)
• HF3320 (Kraft)
• HF3326 (Hemmingsen-Jaeger)
• HF3359 (Hansen)
• HF3416 (Bierman)
• HF3577 (Jordan)
• HF3579 (Lee)
• HF3617 (Finke)
• HF3624 (Hansen)
• HF3731 (Jordan)
• HF3738 (Lee)
• HF3874 (Hansen)
• HF3911 (Hansen)
• HF4135 (Hansen)
• HF4181 (Lislegard)
• HF4214 (Hansen)
• HF4365 (Daniels)
• HF4410 (Hansen)
• HF4454 (Newton)
• HF4550 (Kozlowski)
• HF4624 (Hansen)
• HF4625 (Hansen)
• HF4698 (Pursell)
• HF4931 (Hornstein)
• HF4978 (Hansen)
• HF5084 (Dotseth)