The Water and Wetlands Stewards met on Monday, November 11th. Among the topics discussed was the November 5th Presidential election and the impact of its outcome on some of our issues. The current moratorium on sulfide mining, for example, is likely to be under scrutiny by the new administration.
Some other issues:
The responsible use of road salt: A bill has been in the legislature for several years. We need to reduce the use of salt for road de-icing.
Wake boat regulation: Interested groups are starting to develop proposed regulations. We are quite concerned about the effectiveness of those proposals to prevent environmental damage from wake boats. Several northeastern states have developed regulations on wake boats, which the Stewards are looking at. And the team is waiting for scientific results to be published by the U of M’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. The lab published an earlier influential paper and they have collected data for another paper that may come out in early 2025.
Agricultural nitrate pollution: Our Ag Pollution Subteam will be learning more about how to most effectively reduce pollution from neonicotinoid pesticides, feedlots, nitrate in wells, and nitrous oxide.
A water quality standard for trash in water: One of our members has been working on this for a few years. Some states have a water quality standard for trash. Minnesota has a narrative standard, but the MPCA has been reluctant to enforce it. Minneapolis finally agreed to install a system to keep trash from accumulating in Lake Hiawatha, and it is working well. There is a coalition working on this now.
Federal mining legislation: The team discussed U.S. Representative Pete Stauber's attempt to “reform” the permitting process for mines on federal land by limiting lawsuits and environmental review. Although his bill did not clear the Senate, it will likely be reintroduced, with a better chance of passing. It is also likely that the moratorium on sulfide mining in the BWCA will be reversed under the new administration.