DATE: 01/28/25  

CONTACT: Sarah Horner, MCEA, [email protected], 612-868-3024

Saint Paul, Minn – Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday to fortify Minnesota’s commitment to addressing the longstanding nitrate pollution problem impairing drinking water in the southeastern region of the state as the federal administration changes hands.

The suit was filed against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) in Ramsey County District Court by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), Minnesota Well Owners Organization (MNWOO), and Minnesota Trout Unlimited (MNTU). It alleges that the state’s rules governing manure and commercial fertilizer application are insufficient to protect public health and natural resources from harms caused by nitrate pollution.

Reopening the rules would build on the work state agencies are already doing to address the crisis. It would also initiate a robust public process that would invite impacted stakeholders to the table to create new protections grounded in the shared value that everyone has a right to safe drinking water.

”MPCA and MDA have recognized the persistence and danger of nitrate contamination for decades, and we know our current rules aren’t doing enough to clean up our waters. It’s time for Minnesotans to come together and adopt some common-sense regulations that will make our water safe to drink throughout the state,” said Joy Anderson, supervising attorney at MCEA.

“Despite decades of talk, MPCA and MDA still cannot show us evidence that the groundwater quality for well owners in our region is stable or getting better. All the data show that more people are at risk, and that too few farms are using practices known to abate nitrate pollution. It’s time for the courts to intervene and assure the public that our drinking water is protected,” said Jeff Broberg, founder and member of MNWOO.

“We are alarmed by the impacts of nitrate contamination on coldwater ecosystems, knowing that nitrates reduce the size and potential survival of trout populations. Existing agency rules and programs are not reducing pollution levels, and this must change. We have joined this litigation to ensure that it does,” said John Lenczewski, executive director of Minnesota Trout Unlimited.”

Commercial fertilizer and animal manure from animal feeding operations are the biggest sources of nitrate pollution in the state. Nutrients wash away from fields they’re applied to and seep quickly into groundwater in the state’s vulnerable karst and Central Sands regions, ultimately contaminating drinking water sources in the area with unsafe levels of nitrate pollution. Minnesota’s administrative rules for feedlots and commercial fertilizer are the best tools we have to ensure that best management practices are followed, especially in the most vulnerable areas of the state, but they are currently inadequate.

The soils and geology of the karst and Central Sands regions make them particularly vulnerable to groundwater pollution.

Nearly 400,000 Minnesotans live in the karst region alone, 94,000 of whom rely on private wells, which are at higher risk for nitrate contamination due to lack of public oversight. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  found that at least 9,200 residents with private wells in southeastern Minnesota are at risk of drinking contaminated water above the federal health limit for nitrate.

Nitrate-contaminated drinking water is dangerous as nitrate pollution can be toxic and in some cases fatal for infants. Elevated levels of nitrate are also linked to health conditions including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and birth defects. High levels of nitrate in lakes and rivers also kill fish directly or cause toxic algal blooms that destroy fish habitat and make lakes unfishable and unswimmable. 

In November 2023, in response to an MCEA-led petition, the EPA directed state agencies to use “all available tools” to address the nitrate contamination making Minnesotans’ drinking water unsafe. State agencies are currently conducting outreach in impacted areas to provide safe drinking water alternatives to residents with high nitrate levels and recently finalized revised permits for large animal feedlots to better protect water resources. The Minnesota Legislature appropriated $16 million last legislative session to help cover some of the associated costs of the effort.

The initial steps are a good start to remedying immediate public health concerns, but addressing the root causes of the crisis will require more broadscale changes to the way some agricultural practices are governed in Minnesota. Revising the state’s feedlot and groundwater protection administrative rules is the most practical and effective strategy to achieve that.

For a copy of the lawsuit, or to request an interview with MCEA staff, please contact Sarah Horner at the contact information listed at the of this release.

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Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in its 50th year of using the law and science to protect Minnesota’s environment, natural resources and the health of its people. www.mncenter.org

Minnesota Well Owners Organization (MNWOO) is dedicated to providing educational, technical, and legal services as well as advocacy support for private well owners throughout Minnesota. www.mnwoo.org

Minnesota Trout Unlimited (MNTU) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan conservation organization whose mission is to protect, restore, and sustain Minnesota’s coldwater fisheries and the watersheds and groundwater sources that support them. www.mntu.org