Star Tribune
Dairy farm loses bid at MN appeals court to add thousands of cows
Judge Slieter noted that a variance can be denied if the applicants seek a variance for “economic considerations alone.”
“The record supports the finding that the variance application was made for economic reasons alone,” Slieter wrote.
Southeastern Minnesota has constituted the frontlines of an ongoing debate about how to manage hazardous nitrates, often produced by farm runoff, in sensitive geographies. In 2023, the EPA estimated nearly 10,000 people in the region had water supplies contaminated by high amounts of nitrate. Simultaneously, economic forces pressure farms to grow and compete, with increasingly common mega-dairies to the west and south.
A number of state farm and environmental groups had intervened in the case, including associations for milk, beef, and pork producers, as well as the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation.
Amanda Vohs, staff attorney for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, cheered the ruling, saying the “Court of Appeals affirmed, once again, that Winona County has the right to determine how best to balance the economic interests of its growing agricultural sector with the community’s right to safe drinking water.”
Star Tribune
North Dakota regulators consider underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Midwest pipeline
Carbon capture projects such as Summit’s are eligible for lucrative federal tax credits intended to encourage cleaner-burning ethanol and potentially result in corn-based ethanol being refined into jet fuel.
Some opponents argue the amount of greenhouse gases sequestered through the process would make little difference and could lead farmers to grow more corn despite environmental concerns about the crop.
In Minnesota, utility regulators were expected to decide Thursday whether to grant a route permit for a small part of the overall project, a 28-mile (45-kilometer) segment that would connect an ethanol plant in Fergus Falls to Summit’s broader network.
An administrative law judge who conducted hearings recommended in November that the Public Utilities Commission grant the permit, saying the panel lacks the legal authority to reject it. The judge concluded that the environmental impacts from the Minnesota segment would be minimal, that the environmental review met the legal requirements, and noted that Summit has secured agreements from landowners along most of the recommended route. Commission staff, the state Department of Commerce and Summit largely concurred with those findings.
Environmental groups that oppose the project dispute the judge’s finding that the project would have a net benefit for the environment.
In addition to North Dakota, Summit has a permit from Iowa for its route, but regulators for that state required the company to obtain approvals for routes in the Dakotas and underground storage in North Dakota before it can begin construction. The Iowa Utilities Commission’s approval sparked lawsuits related to the project.
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“You’ve got to be able to say, ‘Here’s how much we want to spend, and here’s what we want the impact to be,’” Carter said.
During the council meeting, Johnson, the Ward 7 council member, alluded to those statements, saying people have used such language to try to discredit women in leadership, especially young women. This is the first budget from St. Paul’s new all-women council.
Staff writer James Walsh contributed to this report.
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Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people, most ever in a single day
American man identifying himself as Travis Timmerman found in Syria after being freed from prison