The 2009 legislative session provided moments of celebration and disappointment this year for our water. Clean Water Action earned several victories this session by helping pass legislation to protect children from exposure to harmful chemicals and to preserve dedicated funding for cleaning up our water resources. However we are disappointed with the lack of progress the legislature has taken to address Global Warming pollution from the transportation sector–a necessary step if Minnesota is to achieve the goals we set in 2007 to curb climate change pollution.

Incredible support from our members and allies made this progress possible. Our field and phone canvassers and email alerts helped us gather thousands of postcards, handwritten letters and email messages to our elected officials urging better health and environmental protections. Strong grassroots pressure like this allows us to remind politicians that clean water is a top priority for Minnesotans. Thank you for your help protecting our water and our health!

Removing Dangerous Chemicals from Kid’s Products
Minnesota made historic strides in protecting our children from harmful chemicals in consumer products. Leadership by our bill authors, Senator Sandy Rummel (DFL-White Bear Lake) and Representative Karen Clark (DFL-Minneapolis) made it possible for Governor Pawlenty to sign into law legislation which requires companies to phase out the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) from all baby bottles and sippy cups by January 1, 2010. This makes Minnesota the first state in the country to protect kids from BPA, a chemical which has been linked to early onset puberty, childhood obesity and diabetes.

The Governor also signed the Toxic Free Kids Act which requires the Minnesota Department of Health to prioritize consumer product chemicals based on their toxicity—a first step in creating a system to identify and replace toxins. We applaud the work of our bill authors Senator Linda Scheid (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and Representative Kate Knuth (DFL-New Brighton) to move the bill to the Governor’s desk.

Cleaning Up Minnesota’s Waters
The Minnesota Legislature passed the first allocation of dedicated Clean Water, Land and Legacy money from the amendment we all voted on in November. One third of the funds will go toward improving and protecting water in Minnesota. The $151M of allocations from the Clean Water Fund include

• $18.7M to test all of Minnesota’s watersheds within the next 10 years.
• $5.3M to address raw sewage discharges from failed or inadequate septic systems.
• $750k as state matching funds to clean up toxic pollution in the Lower St. Louis River and Duluth Harbor.

The Clean Water Fund will serve as the funding source for the 2006 Clean Water Legacy Act, along with groundwater and drinking water source protections.

Global Warming Legislation Stalls
Minnesota enacted greenhouse gas reduction goals in 2007. Since then the legislature has been unable to pass meaningful legislation to meet these goals by reducing carbon pollution from the transportation sector. Bills to enact the Minnesota Clean Car Act and a low carbon fuel standard were derailed. Legislation to address the carbon impact of urban sprawl was weakened significantly.

Fortunately, policy-makers at the federal level have recently moved forward to address transportation pollution. Clean Water Action praises the recent announcement by the Obama Administration of their intention to enact new federal emissions standards. These are similar to the Clean Car Standards we promoted this session that are currently in place in 14 states. This action is a clear signal that states can serve as leaders in pushing federal Global Warming policies. We hope our state leaders see this as an example of how Minnesota can lead in Global Warming solutions.

Preserving the Promise of Clean, Renewable Energy
The Legislature took the correct step by upholding the statewide moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. This action is a clear signal that our state leaders are committed to the 2007 Renewable Energy Standard by moving Minnesota towards clean and locally-grown renewable energy instead toxic and expensive nuclear power. Although we were disappointed the Senate voted to overturn the moratorium, we applaud the actions taken by Representative Bill Hilty and other House members to ultimately keep it in place.