Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Last week, MEP member groups Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), Minnesota Trout Unlimited, and Minnesota Well Owners Organization (MNWOO) filed suit against two Minnesota state agencies, hoping to force them to enact stronger protections for groundwater against nitrate.
The suit, which targets the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), aims to bring about changes to feedlot manure management and the use of nitrogen fertilizer on crops.
Nitrate has been a growing water contaminant in Minnesota for years, polluting the groundwater and threatening the health of Minnesotans who rely on it, especially the more than 1 million who have private wells. Nitrate is best known for causing birth defects like blue baby syndrome, but is also linked to various types of cancer and thyroid issues.
The problem has gotten especially dire in the southeastern part of the state, where the geology is uniquely vulnerable to pollution flowing off of fields and into the porous aquifers. That vulnerability is part of the reason for Winona County’s restriction on the size of livestock operations, a limit that was recently upheld in court.
This crisis has been unfolding in slow motion for decades now despite laws intended to protect Minnesota groundwater. State agencies have monitored this problem, but have largely used voluntary or lenient measures to eat around the edges. Some farmers have taken the initiative to conserve nitrate or implement cover crops and received state support. So far, these well-intended but modest efforts haven’t made much of a dent.
In 2023, the EPA told the MDA, the MPCA, and the Minnesota Department of Health to take stronger measures to protect Minnesotans from nitrate pollution. Agencies have so far worked to provide safe drinking water to those with impacted wells and made some changes to feedlot permitting rules. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that the EPA under the new administration will continue to pressure state agencies for action on nitrate, so state-level pressure is needed.
The lawsuit by MCEA, Minnesota Trout Unlimited and MNWOO specifically demands that the MDA and MPCA update their administrative rules governing manure and nitrogen fertilizer applications. The agencies have stated that the new feedlot manure rules are adequate, but the vast majority of nitrate contamination comes from fertilizer being spread on row crops, a much thornier problem.
Minnesota’s nitrate problem is not unsolvable. Researchers and farmers have advanced agricultural techniques and continuous living cover (CLC) crops that can dramatically reduce nitrate pollution and prevent it from running off into our waters. But current efforts to implement these solutions don’t go far enough and more support for these practices is needed.
We applaud the three MEP members who filed suit for their leadership, and thank the many others working to solve this crisis and restore Minnesotans’ access to safe water. We hope to see our state agencies do the right thing and act much more decisively to keep Minnesotans safe from nitrate.