In This Issue:
- Cumulative Impacts Rulemaking: How People Can Engage
- Progress On PFAS
- Welcome Our New Minnesota Deputy Director
- Brunch For Better Success
- Taking On Toxics For Safer Communities: Healthy Legacy
- Reducing Waste And Saving Money With Rethink Disposable!
- National News: Urge Your Elected Officials To Protect ALL of Our Water!
- Download a PDF of this issue
Cumulative Impacts Rulemaking: How People Can Engage
In May 2023, Minnesota became the third state to pass a comprehensive cumulative impacts law to address the racial and economic disparities in environmental permitting. Due to historic practices such as redlining and racial covenants, BIPOC and low income communities bear a disproportionate burden of pollution, which has led to increased environmental, economic, and health issues.
Our current regulatory process does not properly take into consideration this context when considering permits, nor does it empower local communities. The cumulative impacts law will force polluting facilities in overburdened communities to properly analyze how their pollution is truly impacting the community, and empower overburdened communities in major permitting decisions.
Although the law was passed earlier this year, it is now going through the process known as rulemaking. This is an important part of the process, as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will be clarifying how the law will be enacted. The agency already held a number of initial public meetings and a public comment period, and will now be focusing on further public education about the different rules being considered. Our coalition is working to ensure that the agency listens to community leadership, and writes rules that focus on community protection and empowerment.
Take Action
The MPCA is continuing to host public meetings about these rules; some virtual, some in person. The agency will also begin a deeper community outreach and education process over the next 6 months, with the goal of increasing community engagement in the rulemaking process. The agency has committed to working in partnership with communities to draft these rules, which is a rare opportunity for us to impact this rulemaking. The more people we have engaged in this process, the stronger our collective voice is! Check out the MPCA’s cumulative impacts page and learn more about the rulemaking process and the Frontline Communities Protection Coalition at cleanwater.org/MNimpacts for more ways to get involved.
Progress on PFAS
We have made amazing progress this year taking on toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”! This year with your support we passed a ban on all non-essential uses of PFAS (Amara’s Law), disclosure requirements when PFAS chemicals are used, and a firefighting foam ban. We’re also looking forward: On January 1st 2024, our ban on PFAS in food packaging goes into effect. Make a special gift today to help us continue making progress for a safer Minnesota at cleanwater.org/MNdonate.
Welcome our new Minnesota Deputy Director!
The Clean Water Action Minnesota team is growing! The last year has been full of success and we’re working hard to keep the momentum going. It became apparent that we needed help. We created the position of Deputy Director and looked for a candidate that had a diverse skill set, but most importantly, a passion for our mission. We were thrilled to have an internal applicant with a long track record of success, Kyle Rosas.
Many of you met Kyle at Brunch for Better, or perhaps he’s even come to your door to share with you all that we’re working on and trying to achieve. I invite you to welcome Kyle as he transitions from Field Canvass Director to Deputy Director. With his support, we’re heading into the next legislative session ready to tackle the plastic bag preemption, address plastic source reduction, address the toxic chemicals in plastic, and more. Our future looks bright!
Meet Kyle:
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Hi, I'm Kyle Rosas. I started working for Clean Water Action in 2013, having recently graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a bachelor's degree in political science. I had written my thesis on renewable energy policy development and implementation, and Clean Water Action was conveniently working to strengthen the renewable energy standard here in Minnesota at that time—perfect fit. I grew up in Apple Valley, MN—shoutout Apple Valley High School—and was fortunate to never have to really consider whether the water I drank was clean; whether the land our house was built on was polluted; whether wealthy interests were exploiting our neighborhoods for profit. As I grew from a child to a teenager, my dad began to introduce me to the ethical and environmental crises from our backyards to across the world. He taught me that change needed to happen immediately, that there is an ethical imperative to act to protect the world we live in. During that same time, my mom began to reinforce the good in the world to me, and while never shying away from the darker and dirtier aspects of our communities, teaching me there is a moral imperative to remain compassionate to those around us. |
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And that’s how we got here. After five years of working as our Minnesota field director, I’ve taken on the role of Minnesota Deputy Director. We’ve had so many amazing victories since I started, and I can assure you we have no intention of slowing down. We know it’s not going to be simple, convenient, or effortless to ensure we protect the state we love, but nothing good ever comes easy. So let’s get to work.
Brunch For Better Success!
Thanks to all who helped make our first annual Brunch for Better a success! Tickets sold out and we filled the Dakota. We came together as a community and heard inspiring stories and celebrated award winners. Your enthusiasm inspired us and we’re heading into 2024 with a full plate. We’re so grateful for everyone who took part in reflecting on 2023 and momentum building for years to come. We’ll reach out soon with a save the date for 2024’s Brunch for Better!
Taking on Toxics for Safer Communities: Healthy Legacy
Did you know that Clean Water Action Minnesota will present to your community group at no cost? Our Healthy Homes presentations are a free service thanks to our Healthy Legacy program.
Healthy Legacy seeks to educate both the community and decision makers about the dangers toxic chemicals pose to human health. We work with coalition partners and businesses to focus on phasing out toxic chemicals and finding safer, more sustainable alternatives.
Healthy Homes presentations are designed to help you understand the toxics in your home, why they are dangerous, and what you can do about it. We give you simple steps that are affordable in an easy to understand format. It’s a time to come together with your community to ask questions, learn, and be inspired to make healthy changes for you and your loved ones.
We discuss common toxic chemicals including BPA, lead, PFAS, and vinyl and explain how these chemicals enter our bodies and our water - and how simple changes in habits can make a huge difference.
And, for a limited time, we have an opportunity to offer Healthy Homes bags at presentations held in Hennepin County thanks to our partnership with the Green Partners grant program. These bags are stuffed with a supply of sustainable, safe, chemical free cleaning products to help you take your first steps in transitioning away from toxic chemicals!
Live outside the metro? That’s ok! We’re able to present remotely if that’s easiest for your group. We’re also able to customize presentations if you have specific questions or concerns related to water. Contact HealthyLegacy@cleanwater.org or go to cleanwater.org/HealthyLegacy for more information or to schedule your presentation.
⬆️ Our Healthy Homes presentations are customizable and put your community first. We’ll support you in finding resources to protect your home and your loved ones.
Reducing Waste and Saving Money with ReThink Disposable!
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Rethink Disposable has a national goal to help three schools convert from single use disposables to reusables by September 2024. We are already underway with attaining that goal here in Minnesota by working with three different preschools in Ramsey county. Our Rethink Disposable organizer, Chloe, had reached out to a few Hennepin and Ramsey County schools wondering what their cafeteria setting looked like, how they were disposing food waste, and ideas to help become completely reusable. St. Anthony Village Community Center was all for the switch but was in question of the price burden. With the help of Rethink Disposable funding, technical assistance, and support, we were able to convert the community center and delete over 800 pounds of plastic and help them save over $6,000. With the success here, the high school and middle school of St. Anthony Village, plus three preschools in Roseville, are eager to make the switch. If you know of someone that attends a school, hoping to have zero waste practices and have reusables, reach out to ckintop@cleanwater.org to start the conversation. |
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Stories of Success: Urban Roots
Urban Roots MN operates as a youth development program that helps create economic and educational opportunities for under-resourced, majority BIPOC youth. The program pushes for success through fresh food access, the environment, and wellbeing. ReThink Disposable has been working closely with their program manager, Elly, who runs the Cook Fresh program, as well as MNIZE, a partnership of Hennepin County that supports efforts to decrease waste, to support the transition from disposables to reusables.
Urge Your Elected Officials to Protect ALL of Our Water!
The Clean Water Act of 2023
On October 18, 2023 — the 51st anniversary of the Clean Water Act — members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Clean Water Act of 2023 (H.R. 5983). This bill would restore protections to vital water resources that lost them as a result of the May 2023 Supreme Court decision in the Sackett v. EPA case. Ensuring that all water bodies, including streams and wetlands, are protected as Congress intended remains a priority campaign for Clean Water Action. You can help by urging your U.S. Representative to support this bill that would protect water quality and our drinking water! Take Action: cleanwater.org/CWA23.
We CAN Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water!
We will be mobilizing people to weigh in on a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to reduce lead in drinking water. EPA’s proposal, though not final, is in itself a victory. We have been urging drinking water systems to fully replace all the lead “service line” pipes in their systems for many years and have urged EPA to include that in Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. Read our press release on EPA’s proposal at cleanwater.org/lead-drinking-water.
Federal Budget Update:
Critical Protections and Investments Remain at Risk
As we go to press, the U.S. Congress has not finalized a federal budget for the fiscal year that began October 1. Extremists in Congress continue to propose massive cuts to clean water and clean air programs as well as to historic investments in water infrastructure and addressing the climate crisis. Your federal elected officials need to hear from you. Tell them to protect people and not polluters at cleanwater.org/budget.
