We talked with Steve Ring, chair of the Water and Wetlands (WW) committee, about the committee’s work and current initiatives. This committee works to protect Minnesota’s waters, including lakes, rivers, wetlands, and groundwater.
What are the issues the Water and Wetlands (WW) committee is working on this year?
Every fall, we identify strategic goals for the upcoming year related to Minnesota’s water resources. This year, our goals include:
Addressing agricultural pollution: learning about and becoming involved in addressing the effects of agricultural pollution.
Wetland quality: investigating the Department of Natural Resources report that stated that the quality of Minnesota wetlands is deteriorating,
Impact of Polymet on wetlands: investigate the direct and indirect effects on wetlands of the proposed Polymet mine,
Road salt pollution: investigate chloride (road salt) control strategies and support legislative bills that would reduce its use,
Lake Hiawatha: investigate water issues at the Lake Hiawatha golf course.
Why are you focusing on these goals?
Addressing agricultural pollution: This affects not only lakes and streams in the farming areas of Minnesota, but also groundwater, all of which may become drinking water. The nitrogen in fertilizer can affect community drinking water supplies and even result in infant deaths if not controlled. The state has had the Groundwater Protection Act on the books for 30 years, but no direct implementation of this law.
Wetland Quality: High quality wetlands provide good habitats for many native species and many ecological services for people. They filter out pollutants (like the nitrates from agriculture), reduce flooding during extreme rainfall events, and augment water flow during droughts.
Polymet: The Polymet sulfide mining project will impact the St. Louis River Watershed which flows into Lake Superior at the city of Duluth. The project will put many lakes, streams and downstream population at risk for pollution from metals and sulfate. The project will also impact a huge wetland area.
Road salt pollution: Road salt (usually sodium chloride) use is causing high chloride levels in metro area lakes and streams. High chloride levels can trigger release of other metals from the soil to streams with possible health impacts. They can also make it easier for some invasive species such as Asian clams, zebra mussels and snails to flourish. Increased salt in the water supply from ground and surface waters can affect human health, especially in those with kidney problems, on dialysis and with hypertension. In addition, corrosion from salt affects infrastructure: one ton of road salt does about $1500 of corrosion damage on bridges, vehicles and the environment.
What actions does WW committee take to address these issues?
We work with other Sierra Club Committees and other organizations toward our goals. As an example, consider a bill introduced in the recent legislative session (S.F. 2705).
During the legislative session, one of our committee members tracks and reports on all water related bills that are introduced. Another member puts bills in a spreadsheet so we can track them in more detail. Committee members do preliminary scans to get an idea about whether we should oppose or support bills. A committee member from Mankato first commented on bill S.F. 2705. It was flagged as having many serious issues. The Sierra Legislative Committee asked us to produce formal comments on it. Two members made comments, another wrote up a formal letter and a fourth member did the editing. The Sierra Club lobbyist, Justin Fay, had it submitted to the relevant Senate legislative committee with copies for all of its members.
The result: Many of the bad provisions were dropped from the bill. A few that got through to the big omnibus bills at the end were vetoed with encouragement from the Sierra Club and other organizations. Sometimes an individual committee member has special knowledge and takes the lead on actions. Other times it is a complete team effort.
If people want to get involved with WW committee, what is the next step?
They can come to a committee meeting, which is held on the third Tuesday of the month at the Sierra Club North Star chapter office at 2327 East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. They can also email me at ring.steve@gmail.com to ask questions or request to be added to our committee listserv.