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Minnesota's investigation into PFAS contamination began in 2002 when 3M notified the MPCA of PFAS in its Cottage Grove production well. In 2004, PFAS were found to have contaminated drinking water supplies in parts of the eastern Twin Cities, and fish tested in the Mississippi River Pool 2 had high concentrations near the discharge from the 3M Cottage Grove facility. Most of the contamination was traced to four dumps or landfills. The East Metro investigations have identified an area of groundwater contamination covering over 150 square miles, affecting the drinking water supplies of over 175,000 Minnesotans.
This meeting is a follow-up to UMRR's October 4 PFAS webinar, PFAS The Unfolding Story which took a regional look at PFAS contamination, and then focused on problems in Wisconsin. You can watch the video of this meeting at this link. This post also includes supplemental material on PFAS sources and actions.  Kirk Koudelka, MPCA Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka was appointed Assistant Commissioner for Land Policy and Strategic Initiatives in May 2012. Prior to that, Kirk served as the Legislative Director at the MPCA. He led the agency’s legislative efforts for the 2011 through 2014 legislative sessions in both roles. Before coming to the agency, Kirk spent 11 legislative sessions at the Minnesota House of Representatives in various capacities. The last six years were spent focused on environmental and natural resources issues, four for which were with the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee. It included administering the Solid Waste, Recycling and Resources Conservation Working Group focusing on state level changes, but also internal changes at the Legislature. Kirk has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Hamline University. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/pfas-pollution
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LWV UMRR held a webinar on PFAS in our four-state area on October 4 - you can watch the video at this link. For more information about the webinar, including the excellent meeting materials, click here. Here's a public notice from the Wisconsin DNR from October 13: From: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources <widnr@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: October 13, 2021 at 08:41:08 CDT Subject: Reminder: DNR Listening Sessions Regarding PFAS Investigations on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021 Reply-To: widnr@service.govdelivery.com The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host listening sessions regarding the PFAS contamination in Marinette, Peshtigo and surrounding communities on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, from noon to 2 p.m. and from 6 - 7:30 p.m. The listening sessions will be conducted via Zoom video conferencing. Participants may join online or by phone. Online: Zoom video conferencing (click the words "Zoom video" to join) By Phone: Dial 312-626-6799, Meeting ID number: 822 9180 9472 The listening sessions will include routine updates from the DNR and the Department of Health Services (DHS) regarding the status of the PFAS investigations in the community. Representatives from several DNR programs will participate in these sessions to answer questions and hear concerns from community members regarding the PFAS cleanup and investigation. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades in numerous products including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foam. These contaminants have made their way into the environment through spills of PFAS-containing chemicals, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants and certain types of firefighting foams. Participants are strongly encouraged to submit questions in advance through email at DNRJCIPFAS@wisconsin.gov or by telephone at 1-888-626-3244. The Zoom meeting link and an agenda for these online Listening Sessions will be posted on the DNR’s Marinette and Peshtigo PFAS webpage. Recordings of these listening sessions will be placed on the Marinette and Peshtigo PFAS webpage shortly following the events.  This post was written by Matt Doll with the Minnesota Environmental Partnership* on Sept 25, 2021. Line 3 is an Enbridge pipeline project taking tar sands oil from Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. Opposition to this pipeline has been strong, but the project continues to move to completion. There have been a number of spills of drilling fluid and incidents where construction endangered ground water and fens in the area.
On Thursday (Sept. 24), MEP sponsored an online presentation, “Understanding the Line 3 Aquifer Breach and Spills,” in which geologists and Indigenous pipeline resisters shared information on the impacts that construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline is already having on our waters and ecosystems. Though science has predicted that Line 3 will harm our climate and pose a threat to Northern Minnesota waters, the presenters painted a disturbing picture of the damage that Enbridge has already inflicted on land and groundwater. The video is now available on MEP’s YouTube channel. Our first presenters were geologists Jeff Broberg and Dr. Laura Triplett, who began by explaining how Enbridge’s digging of a deep trench near the Clearbrook Terminal caused an aquifer breach. Earlier this year, the crews sunk sheet pilings - stabilizing structures that prevent trench collapse - deep into the earth while operating in the trench for the new pipeline. Those pilings pierced into the waters of the aquifer below the layers of earth. When the pilings were removed, water gushed upward, forming an eruption of quicksand that resembled boiling water. The result of this breach, beyond the release of water into the trench, is that nearby ecosystems are harmed, specifically a variety of wetlands known as “calcareous fens.” These fens are highly biodiverse and sequester large amounts of carbon, but are dependent on water springing up from the aquifer. The loss of their water can dry them out, which is why permitting for this pipeline included measures meant to protect the fens. “What we have here is a cascading series of failures,” said Broberg, “that started with the design and permitting.” Originally, he said, Enbridge’s plans presented to regulators indicated they would dig a trench only eight feet deep to protect the fens, but crews ended up digging eighteen feet deep instead to avoid the company’s other pipelines. The aquifer breach is estimated to have been releasing up to 100,000 gallons of water into the trench every day. The breach began January 21. Over 25 million gallons have been lost. The DNR only ordered Enbridge to fix it last week, “There was a failure of the backstop that we rely on with our regulatory agency,” said Triplett. “I don’t think the system worked.” The DNR also told Enbridge to fund an escrow with $2.75 million for the restoration of damage to the calcareous fens sensitive ecosystems that have been risked. Understanding the damage to the fens may take years to uncover. The company has also been assessed $300,000 for the water from the aquifer that has already been (25 million gallons) and will be lost by the time the aquifer is repaired, if that is even possible. This amounts to about 1 cent a gallon for this water. The DNR has also assessed a forgivable $20,000 administrative penalty order, the most allowed by state law. These do not amount to penalties or deterrence for future law violations for a company with almost $30 billion in income for the year 2020. The presentation continued with Dawn Goodwin, an Indigenous organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, co-founder of the RISE Coalition, and a resident of the Clearbrook area. She described how she and other Indigenous pipeline resisters have monitored Line 3 construction in treaty lands, lands on which the Ojibwe have the guaranteed right to gather resources like wild rice and fish. They have uncovered and documented spills along the line known as “frac-outs,” in which drilling fluid used in construction surges into low-pressure spaces during excavation, resulting in chemical pollution and disrupting the local hydrology. “This is a pattern of Enbridge rushing, not reporting, and being so slow and not transparent,” said Goodwin. Like the aquifer breach, these frac-outs often go unnoticed by state authorities, and result in harm to land, water, and wildlife. The effects of this pipeline construction, coupled with climate change effects like this year’s drought, gravely threaten the culture and livelihoods of the Ojibwe. Ron Turney, a member of the White Earth Nation and of the Indigenous Environmental Network’s media team, showed his own drone footage that has helped to identify these frac-outs, which have occurred on tributaries of the Mississippi (Turney’s section begins around 47:45 in the video). He described how Indigenous monitors identified these issues, raised them publicly, and were wrongly accused by the Pollution Control Agency of spreading disinformation. “But we have the evidence,” Turney said. “They can’t hide this from us - they can’t hide it from the public.” 100 people, including journalists and legislators, joined us for the meeting, and the most common question asked was, “What should we do?” The presenters’ responses varied in details, but they all focused on the core issue: Enbridge has repeatedly failed or refused to protect Minnesota’s environment, and our state agencies have failed to hold the company accountable. Jeff Broberg said, “We need our state elected officials to make the calls. We need our State Representatives and Senators and Governor Walz and Senator Klobuchar and Smith to call President Biden: tell him that these water permits should be abandoned.” Both President Biden and Governor Walz have the power to halt this pipeline if they choose. Between these harms to state lands and waters, the associated cover-ups, and the catastrophic climate impacts of this pipeline, they have nothing but good reasons to do so. We've written about this project on the LWV UMRR blog previously - click here for past posts. *The League of Women Voters Minnesota is a member of the MEP, and LWV UMRR participates with MEP through that connection. The Wisconsin Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers and LWV Wisconsin co-sponsored a series of meetings on Wisconsin's infrastructure in the past year. The videos from these 11 meetings are now posted. Here's the information on the meetings that Carol Diggelman (Emerita Professor, Civil & Architectural Engineering & Construction Management Department, MSOE; Co-Chair, LWV of Milwaukee County Natural Resources Committee and Member, LWVWI and ASCE WI Section) shared recently.  ASCE WI-LWVWI “Invest in Wisconsin’s Infrastructure” Overview and Category Series are now complete. You will find the links to video recordings of all programs below. Overview meeting links can also be found on the ASCE WI YouTube channel. Category meeting links can be found on the LWVWI website at this link.
We encourage everyone to forward these program links to others, particularly your elected officials. Recordings: Overview Series
Category Series
This year's Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone (which occurs near where the Mississippi River drains into the Gulf) brings the same story of a larger-than-average measurement. The hypoxic (no oxygen) 'dead zone' measured three times larger than our national goal, measuring in at over 6,300 square miles; an area larger than the state of Connecticut. It is a stark reminder that we must be doing more, not less, to protect clean water across the Mississippi River Basin. Friends of the Mississippi River’s, Peter LaFontaine, breaks down this year’s measurement and solutions to the problems here. It’s time for a new vision Now, we have a great opportunity to do something different. Let’s break this cycle of the same headlines year after year. The Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (or MRRRI) is one new tool we can support right now. Matt Rota of Healthy Gulf in Louisiana recently shared that, “this legislation would create a Federal office focused on the health of the Mississippi and would include significant funds dedicated to nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that feeds the Dead Zone”. The MRRRI Act, or H.R. 4202, was introduced by Congresswoman Betty McCollum earlier this summer. Take action to support a new vision for the Mississippi River now by emailing or calling your congressperson (don't worry, it's easy to take action!). The Dead Zone is three times larger than it 'should' be. Image: LUMCON/NOAA results from their July 25 - August 1, 2021, Gulf Hypoxia Zone measurement cruise.  This blog post was extracted from an email sent by 1 Mississippi on September 2, 2021.
The video of this webinar is available for viewing now at this link: https://youtu.be/SodForAydqQ
On October 4, LWV UMRR hosted a panel discussion on PFAS. Our presenters helped us understand how PFAS have become a big part of our lives – present in food packaging, household products and drinking water – and what we know about how they affect our health. As awareness of PFAS contamination grows, communities are struggling to cope with tainted drinking water while engaging in advocacy to increase public awareness and bring about constructive change. Watch the video to learn what the federal government and states are doing to establish safe standards for drinking water and ban the use of PFAS in manufacturing. Most importantly, learn what you can do to help protect yourself, your family and your community. OUR PANEL Jeff Lamont – Retired hydrogeologist, works with SOH2O (Save Our H2O) to ensure safe drinking water for residents in Northeast Wisconsin and to advocate for state and federal standards for PFAS compounds. Jeff resides in the Tyco/JCI groundwater contamination plume in the Marinette and Town of Peshtigo area and has a private well impacted by PFAS. Jeff and his wife have been living with bottled water for drinking and cooking for the last 3.5 years. Erika Schreder – Science Director, Toxic-Free Future, conducts and publishes research on toxic chemicals, their presence in people and products, and safer alternatives. Deanna White – Minnesota Director, Clean Water Action, coordinates EPA and state level interactions for policy and legislation. Deanna has an extensive background in community organizing and advocacy.
“Dubuque is a viable, livable, and equitable community. We embrace economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy to create a sustainable legacy for generations to come.”
At the August 2 LWV UMRR meeting, Gina Bell, Sustainable Communities Coordinator for the City of Dubuque, reviewed the activities in Dubuque, Iowa that have made this small city a nationally recognized leader in community engagement and resilience. This video above includes a discussion period after Gina's presentation, and the .pdf below includes the slides she used. Sustainable Dubuque is the City’s Brand Dubuque has established itself as a regional and national leader in its ability to collaboratively partner to achieve community goals. What Dubuque is achieving collectively today through its Sustainable Dubuque model, is the direct result of the knowledge and understanding that sustainability is a balanced approach to long-term life quality. It is a rare approach to life quality where no one in the community is excluded…everyone who wants to do so, can participate and contribute. That is what is unique in Dubuque’s ability to continue to innovate and transform. Most recently, the City of Dubuque and its partners are working to create a replicable model of sustainability for cities under 200,000, where over 40 percent of the US population lives. Sustainable Dubuque is who and what we are; it is our brand; it is our recognizable logo; and it is our future. You can learn more about sustainable practices at this year's 2021 Growing Sustainable Communities Conference. It will be held in-person in Dubuque on October 11-13. Learn more and register at this link. UMRR Board member Kay Slama (LWV Willmar, MN) attended the Line 3 Treaty People Gathering at the headwaters of the Mississippi in northern MN June 5-8 and Zoomed into our Board meeting from there. Today, on Wed June 9, she says: The weather was extremely hot, but most participants appeared to be in their 20’s and 30’s and dealing well with the heat. Sunday was an inspiration and training day at a White Earth Reservation site. On Monday, participants split into their various action groups and headed out to their action sites. Unfortunately, some national celebrities like Jane Fonda got much of the coverage, rather than the indigenous people leading the protest. So many people were arrested that I found 21 listed at our Kandiyohi County jail 2 hours south, and I will probably be involved in trying to return them to their cars up north. The protests are continuing today, and will go on. We will follow this the UMRR Blog as we move forward. Line 3 protestors are turning up the heat as they work to stop Line 3. More than 600 people have now been arrested, including Indigenous leader Winona La Duke. Early in the protests, things took an ugly turn when a US Customs and Border Patrol helicopter sprayed protestors with dust and debris. Minnesota is in the midst of a drought and construction of the pipeline requires dewatering and other water appropriations. Some of the DNR's appropriation permits have been temporarily suspended due to the drought, holding up construction to some extent. The stakes are high and the protesters are determined. The video from this meeting, along with a summary and a link to sign up for the October Sustainability conference are available in a blog post here: https://www.lwvumrr.org/blog/sustainable-dubuque (Link above added August 7, 2021) “Dubuque is a viable, livable, and equitable community. We embrace economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy to create a sustainable legacy for generations to come.” On August 2 at 1pm, LWV UMRR will host Gina Bell, Sustainable Communities Coordinator for the City of Dubuque in an interactive Zoom session. Gina will review the activities in Dubuque, Iowa that has made this small city a nationally recognized leader in community engagement and resilience. Join us for a lively discussion with this inspiring local leader! Topic: LWV UMRR - Sustainable Dubuque Aug 2, 2021 Time: Aug 2, 2021 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Clink here to Join Zoom Meeting  How Sustainable Dubuque became a "thing"... and why LWV UMRR is focusing on this in August
LWV UMRR is all about the environment, and using LWV's superpowers of education and advocacy to protect and enhance water quality, combat climate change and make our lives and world more sustainable. Our August educational program celebrates the work that Dubuque has done to bring the voices of their citizens into the work of the city as they become "Sustainable Dubuque". The city's website describes this process below: The BeginningAfter serving 10 years on the City Council, Roy D. Buol ran for the office of Mayor in 2005. His platform was based upon “engaging citizens as partners,” and what he heard from thousands of citizens was a consistent theme surrounding water quality, recycling, green space, public transit, cultural vitality, accessibility and downtown revitalization. During the 2006 City Council goal-setting process, Mayor Buol proposed and received full support from his council colleagues to focus on sustainability as a City top priority, stating “cities that get out in front on sustainability will have competitive economic advantages in the future.” What soon became known as Sustainable Dubuque is a City Council adopted, community-created, and citizen-led initiative whose story officially begins in 2006. A City Council priority each year since, we are continually working to expand awareness, create partnerships, and encourage initiatives involving all sectors of our community. Dubuque became an early leader on the sustainability front. Citizen Engagement from the StartIgniting our early efforts was the selection by the American Institute of Architects as one of six cities in the nation to receive a grant for professional analysis and recommendations on creating a sustainable path to the future. The City Council moved immediately to create a city-wide citizen task force, supported by City Staff, to develop a comprehensive definition of what sustainability meant to our community. Aptly named the “Sustainable Dubuque Task Force,” the representation included individuals who brought diverse backgrounds and interests to the process, including local government, schools, utility companies, religious organizations, neighborhood associations, youth organizations, non-profits, environmental organizations and business stakeholders. The group met over the next two years, collecting community-wide input to develop a vision. The process also included presentations to community organizations and businesses to discuss targeted visions and ideas. Additionally, nearly 900 community surveys were completed. The results of these efforts, along with other data collected by the task force, were used to develop the Sustainable Dubuque vision and model which focuses on a balanced approach to life quality and includes “economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy.” The collective desire of our citizens to create value and a legacy of life quality through sustainable practices and programs was defined. An Organized & Collaborative Approach By and For Citizens “Dubuque is a viable, livable, and equitable community. We embrace economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy to create a sustainable legacy for generations to come.” In order to implement that vision, the task force defined 12 key principles to guide the community’s path to a more sustainable future. These include: Regional Economy, Smart Energy Use, Resource Management, Community Design, Green Buildings, Healthy Local Foods, Community Knowledge, Reasonable Mobility, Healthy Air, Clean Water, and Native Plants & Animals. Community Engagement is Occurring Across a Broad Spectrum When the citizen task force brought its final recommendation for Sustainable Dubuque to the City Council in 2008, it came with the support of the private, non-profit, and public sectors, as well as residents because of the grassroots process that had been implemented at the outset. The Sustainable Dubuque framework has become the lens through which city operations are developed and analyzed. Likewise, there are numerous community initiatives active such as Project HOPE, Green Vision Schools, and the Petal Project to name a few, along with businesses that are finding ways to save money and improve their environment and their community by implementing the principles that define Sustainable Dubuque. Sustainable Dubuque is the City’s Brand Dubuque has established itself as a regional and national leader in its ability to collaboratively partner to achieve community goals. What Dubuque is achieving collectively today through its Sustainable Dubuque model, is the direct result of the knowledge and understanding that sustainability is a balanced approach to long-term life quality. It is a rare approach to life quality where no one in the community is excluded…everyone who wants to do so, can participate and contribute. That is what is unique in Dubuque’s ability to continue to innovate and transform. Most recently, the City of Dubuque and its partners are working to create a replicable model of sustainability for cities under 200,000, where over 40 percent of the US population lives. Sustainable Dubuque is who and what we are; it is our brand; it is our recognizable logo; and it is our future. Sustainable Dubuque info on city website: https://www.cityofdubuque.org/1257/About-Sustainable-Dubuque Sustainable Dubuque website: https://www.sustainabledubuque.org/# The Mississippi River is an enduring and defining feature of North America – and a vital source of jobs, recreation, and drinking water. Congresswoman Betty McCollum has a new initiative - the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative Act, HR 4202! Now is the time that we need to reach out to our members of Congress to urge their support for this bill. Follow this link for an action message from the Mississippi River Network that includes a message to share when you make the call. The MRRRI bill directs EPA to develop a strategy with federal, tribal, state and local entities to improve water quality, resilience to natural disasters, native ecosystems, and more – restoring the vitality of The Great River for generations to come. The LWV UMRR Annual Meeting featured remarks by Representative McCollum and an excellent talk by Kelly McGinnis, Executive Director of the Mississippi River Network. LWV UMRR's Communications Director Gretchen Sabel also shares information on a similar program - the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - and how it has helped to clean up long-time pollution problems in the Great Lakes. You can see the video from this presentation on the LWV UMRR YouTube channel here.  |
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