MPCA: An Agency

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MPCA An Agency Legislative Update

• Brad Moore, Commissioner
• June 22, 2007

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MPCA Mission

• Working with Minnesotans to protect, conserve and
  improve our environment and enhance our quality
  of life.

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MPCA Priorities

• Core environmental programs
• Permitting
• Compliance and enforcement
• Monitoring and assessment
• Cleanup and emergency response
• Environmental assistance
• Impaired waters

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Whats New

• Annandale-Maple Lake implications
• Clean Water Legacy implementation TMDLs
• Ethanol/mining initiative and biofuels study
• Mercury TMDL
• Air permitting improvements
• Greenhouse gas reduction efforts
• PFCs in groundwater

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Annandale Maple Lake

• MPCA has authority to interpret environmental
  laws it enforces
• MPCA made a
• reasonable
• interpretation of
• the Clean Water
• Act

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NPDES Permitting Moving Forward

• Pre-TMDL
• Phosphorus Trading
• Water Quality
• Trading Rule
• Final TMDL

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Impaired waters

• Clean Water Legacy
• Protect, restore and preserve the quality of
  Minnesota's surface waters
• Quality of Minnesotas surface waters closely
  tied to economy
• MPCA receiving 31 million during FY08-09 to
  address impaired waters
• Funds to be used to monitor, assess and restore
  polluted surface water

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Permittees Affected by Total MaximumDaily Load
(TMDL) Studies
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Ethanol/Mining/Biofuels

• 6 million from Environment Fund to speed
  permitting in fast-growing sectors
• Process improvements to permitting
• 300,000 for biennium on biomass gasification air
  emission study

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Mercury emissions in Minnesota
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Air Quality How are we doing in Minnesota?
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Air regulatory program

• Permit and inspect facilities that emit air
  pollutants
• 3,310 permitted facilities across state
• Permits limit amount of pollution, set operating
  conditions, require data collection and reporting
• Major facilities have 95 compliance rate
• Air program budget
• FY08-09 22.2 million

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Improving Rate of Permit Completion
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Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction

• New legislation Next Generation Energy Act of
  2007
• Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group
• The Climate Registry

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Other Issues

• Update on new PFC developments
• E-waste legislation
• SCORE grants
• Working with stakeholders

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Brad Moore 651-296-7305 ? brad.moore_at_pca.state.m
n.us
www.pca.state.mn.us