Water Protection

Issue

Should the Legislature provide funding to protect and restore Minnesota’s lakes and streams?

Policy

• The protection and restoration of Minnesota’s lakes and streams is not only an important civic responsibility of stewardship of our natural resources, it is essential to Minnesota’s economy. The tourism/recreation industries, manufacturing and agriculture rely on our water resources. Under the federal Clean Water Act, failing to meet water quality standards could prevent business expansion and development.

• The Pollution Control Agency (PCA) and other state agencies and local units of government must implement section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (impaired waters/Total Maximum Daily Load) in a timely manner through a process that is based on sound science and that provides for open participation and input by all stakeholders.

• In 2006, the Minnesota Chamber supported passage of the Clean Water Legacy Act, which creates a policy framework for implementation of the federally mandated impaired waters program. The law requires coordination and cooperation among state agencies and local units of government, sets goals and priorities for assessing, evaluating and restoring impaired waters, and establishes a mechanism for ongoing oversight of program implementation.

• The Chamber recognizes that the identification, evaluation and restoration of lakes and streams that do not meet water quality standards will require significant financial resources. In the 2008 election, voters passed an amendment to the State Constitution that increases the sales tax rate by three-eighths of 1 cent (0.375 percent) to be dedicated to habitat, clean water and cultural heritage. Thirty-three percent of the annual receipts will be deposited in the Clean Water Fund. The Chamber will work to ensure that the funds are allocated for the purposes designated in the amendment, are spent in a manner that minimizes bureaucracy and administrative cost, and that achieve verifiable water quality improvements.

• The Legislature, Governor and the Clean Water Council established in the Act must ensure that the agencies and departments responsible for implementing the Clean Water Legacy Act fulfill the goal of achieving and maintaining water quality standards. All programs must include outcome-based performance measures that will quantify the impact of expenditures on a project and watershed level.

Business Impact

Minnesota has more shoreline from lakes and steams than any other state except Alaska. The abundance of our water resource is an aesthetic value to our citizens that is priceless. We have recreational opportunities that few other states enjoy. Our water resource is essential to our economic vitality as well.

This abundance of water presents a potential pitfall. If Minnesota’s waters fail to achieve water quality standards, not only will our personal enjoyment of our lakes and rivers be reduced, but our economy could be seriously affected. Tourism is a $10 billion industry. Agriculture, food processing and manufacturing have a distinct competitive advantage due to our water resource. All states must comply with the federal Clean Water Act requirement to meet water quality standards, but Minnesota businesses have potentially more to lose than most states for failure to achieve standards. Because we have more waters that could be impaired, the costs to assess and restore them will be much greater than most states. The law limits new or increased discharges into impaired waters, thereby potentially preventing business expansion or new facilities.

The state has assessed only 28 percent of its lakes and 17 percent of our streams. Of those waters assessed, 40 percent were found to be impaired – nearly 3,100. A 2003 report to the Legislature by the PCA estimated the long-term cost to restore these waters to range from $600 million to $3 billion.