CURE and four other environmental organizations sue the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act
Across southern Minnesota, people are watching rivers creep closer to homes, roads wash out after heavy rains, and drinking water bills climb while the state agency charged with protecting Minnesotans’ water has declined to take action. That’s why CURE and several Minnesota environmental organizations that previously petitioned the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to fix public drainage systems using common-sense, proven best practices have now taken the MPCA to court, asking a state judge to enforce a basic government duty: follow the law and protect the people who live here.
In late February, environmental groups filed suit in Ramsey County, asking the court to enforce the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA) and require MPCA to regulate public agricultural drainage systems using proven, practical interventions. Earlier, in December, the Corn and Soy Growers’ Associations had sued the groups who had petitioned MPCA last summer in an attempt to block constitutionally-protected efforts to clean up Minnesota’s public drainage systems. Better ag drainage oversight is not about paperwork or politics. It is about clean water, public health, and fairnessfor rural Minnesotans.
The Minnesota River has been one of the most polluted rivers in the state for decades. MPCA’s own research shows agricultural drainage is a major pathway for nutrient pollution. Underground tile lines, ditches, and straightened streams move water off fields quickly, but they also carry nitrogen and phosphorus straight into rivers.
MPCA has also found that the most heavily tiled watersheds are the highest-nitrogen-polluting in Minnesota. In the Blue Earth River watershed, MPCA attributes 76 percent of nitrogen pollution to crop tile drainage.
That pollution ends up in drinking water. Communities like Mankato and Fairmont face recurring nitrate spikes that force public water systems to spend large amounts of taxpayer dollars to keep water safe. High nitrate levels are linked to serious health risks, including increased cancer risk. A national analysis by Environmental Working Group estimates nitrate in drinking water may contribute to more than 12,500 cancer cases in the U.S. each year—a risk Minnesotans face too.
Drainage also increases flood risk by sending more water into rivers faster, eroding stream banks, and threatening roads, bridges, wells, and homes. In the Mankato area alone, the Minnesota Department of Transportation estimates $35 million has been spent over the last 15 years on flood‑related road and bridge projects. In 2019, the city spent $3.3 million to protect a drinking water well from being lost to erosion.
If the court orders MPCAto take regulatory action, public drainage systems will be held to an achievable standard, and the costs of this pollution and erosion won’t be borne by folks who don’t have any part in causing it. The court can order a rulemaking process that will allow all interested parties to weigh in and work towards a balanced permitting system that decreases harms from uncontrolled water flows through best management practices for controlling runoff. Taking practical steps now will help rural Minnesota deal with bigger storms and keep families healthier down the road.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of five environmental organizations, including and represented by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. Also joining the lawsuit are the Friends of the Minnesota Valley, Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton League of America, and Minnesota Valley Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, all suing on behalf of the State of Minnesota under MERA.
CURE is rurally based, with staff across Minnesota. CURE knows rural people, lands, and ecosystems are vital to helping solve some of the biggest problems Minnesota and the country face. We help to tell the story of a vibrant rural future, lift-up people to lead, and work for policies and laws to make a better future possible for everyone.
Photo by Rob Levine
