Senate expected to pass $3 million nitrate treatment package for southeastern MN

The Minnesota Senate is expected to approve $3 million in one-time funding to address nitrate pollution in southeastern Minnesota. 

Nitrate pollution is often the result of farm fertilizer runoff. 

The funds are included in a large agriculture, energy and environment omnibus bill that came to the Senate floor Monday.

The bill directs $2 million to the state Department of Health to establish a mitigation fund for contaminated wells in eight southeastern counties: Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona. The department can spend the money on testing residents’ water, repairing and replacing polluted wells, and reverse osmosis water filtration systems.

An additional $750,000 will go to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to provide in-home water treatment systems, and for outreach and education efforts. 

The legislation also includes a one-time $500,000 boost to the state’s soil health financial assistance program in the same eight-county region. The program covers up to 50% of the cost of new equipment for farmers who want to adopt practices that can reduce fertilizer runoff.

Sen. Torrey Westrom of Alexandria, the Republican lead on the Senate Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee, said he fully supported the agriculture section of the omnibus, but that its inclusion in a more controversial omnibus would force Republicans to vote against it.

After little discussion of the agriculture portion of the legislation, the Senate moved on to a lengthy debate over whether to require licenses to sell copper wire.