FMR | 2011 Legislature: Threatened Rollbacks to the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area

Photo: University of Minnesota

An effort is afoot at the Minnesota Legislature to roll back vital environmental protections for the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) — a 72-mile protected corridor from Dayton to Hastings. Bills have been introduced in the House (House File 95) and Senate (Senate File 39) to repeal 2009 amendments to Minn. Statutes §116G.15, which directed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to update 35-year-old standards and guidelines for river corridor development through state rules.

Since passage of the new law, the DNR has used most of a $500,000 appropriation to conduct science-based state rulemaking for the corridor, but missed a statutory deadline to publish draft rules by January 3rd of this year.

FMR is joined by 38 other environmental organizations (see list below) and numerous citizens and stakeholders in the belief that state rulemaking is the best way to modernize standards and guidelines for protection and enhancement of the Critical Area and National Park. Recently several corridor cities have gone on record opposing the repeal bill and supporting moving ahead with the rulemaking process.

Repeal of §116G.15 would end a 35-year tradition of bipartisan support for protecting the Mississippi River Critical Area, and it would send a strong message that the State of Minnesota does not have an interest in protecting the natural and cultural values of our National Park on the Mississippi River.

"Many, many stakeholders were involved in bringing these much-needed protections to the Mississippi River Critical Area," said Whitney Clark, FMR's executive director. "It would be a huge step backward to roll back this important work for our great river."

Making its way through the State Senate, the repeal bill has passed through two committees on a straight party line vote. The hearings this year have been in stark contrast with those of 2009’s, when FMR worked with legislators of both parties to pass the reform law. At that time, not a single senator voted against the reform bill, either in committee or on the floor. Just two years later, some of those same senators are now voting for repeal.

The purpose of the law which legislators are proposing to repeal is to “protect and preserve the Mississippi River and adjacent lands that the legislature finds to be unique and valuable state and regional resources for the benefit of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the state, region, and nation” and it directs the MN Department of Natural Resources to craft rules to accomplish that.

Photo: MNRRA

Why rulemaking is needed now

Momentum for new rules has been building for some time, and from many directions:

Currently, the river is not protected by formally-developed rules, but soley by a 1979 Executive Order signed by Gov. Quie that has resulted in a patchwork approach to protecting the National Park.
In 1995, upon the designation of the Critical Area Corridor as a National Park, legislation called upon the DNR to review the existing Critical Area Program and “specify any additional standards and guidelines...needed to insure preservation of the area upon completion of the [MNRRA Comprehensive Management Plan].” (1995 c 254 art 1 s 71)
In 2007, the Legislature directed the DNR to undertake a study of the the Critical Area Program and its implementation, to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the program. The study, released in January 2008, underscored the inconsistent application and updating of Critical Area plans and ordinances, resulting in confusion, anxiety and inconsistency in the implementation of the program. One of the significant options considered by the report was undertaking a rulemaking process to bring greater clarity and coherenece to the many programs that come to bear on the river, and develop a unified set of rules for the Critical Area.
In 2009, a study group helped draft a bill calling for new rules in the corridor, and providing a $500,000 appropriation to help

We need you to act now to protect our Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area! FMR will be working hard to defend the Critical Area. We urge you to send a brief email to your state legislators asking them to oppose any repeal of the Mississippi River Critical Area – Minn. Statutes §116G.15. To find out who your state representative and senator are, use the Minnesota Legislative district finder.

And if you would like to help out or get involved, please stay tuned, and feel free express your interest to Irene Jones at or (651) 222-2193 ext. 11.

Photo: Tom Bell

Bring these core messages to your public officials. We are sending our legislators core messages in support of the Critical Area, and invite you to help us by sharing these ideas with your legislator (see above for information on how to contact them):

The Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area is the protective framework for our Mississippi River National Park. The Critical Area was established in 1976 as a 72-mile corridor that extends from Dayton to Hastings. Critical Area law protects the Mississippi’s key natural, historical, cultural, scenic, recreational, economic and water resources, and serves as the requisite regulatory scheme for the National Park that shares the Critical Area’s overall boundaries. Local municipalities are required to adopt Critical Area Plans and supporting zoning ordinances. The DNR administers the program in collaboration with corridor municipalities and the Met Council.
Existing Critical Area protections have been based on an aging patchwork approach that’s over three decades old. Protections have based on a 1979 Executive Order signed by Governor Al Quie. This patchwork approach results in poor coordination among cities and inconsistent results. A 2008 DNR report to the legislature underscored the inadequacies of the existing Critical Area program, and highlighted the need for a more consistent approach to protecting the Critical Area and the National Park which shares its boundaries.
Recognizing the limitations of the existing approach, rulemaking to protect the River corridor was set into motion by the 2009 Legislature and Governor Pawlenty. In 2009, Governor Tim Pawlenty signed legislation to initiate rulemaking in the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area, along with $500,000 in funding to support the process.
The rulemaking process is nearing completion. Staff from the DNR met with each of the individual municipalities at the outset of the process to understand local plans and ordinances. Four geographically-based task forces each met four times to help inform the process, and two open houses were held. Rules are near completion, and money is available to complete them.
To protect our river, rulemaking should be extended, not ended prematurely. Over a year’s worth of work is nearing completion. Yet because some stakeholders disagree with the direction of the science-based protections proposed by DNR, they are politicizing the effort, and calling for abandonment of the process altogether. Now is not the time to walk away from our commitment to the Mississippi River.

There is broad support for our work protecting Critical Area. The following groups all support our efforts and protecting the Mississippi River Critical Area framework, and ensuring new rules are successfully brought to completion:

1000 Friends of Minnesota • Alliance for Sustainability • Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis • Audubon Minnesota • Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) • Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota • Environment Minnesota • Fresh Energy • Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness • Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest • Friends of the Mississippi River • Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County • Institute for Energy and Environmental Research • Institute for Local Self- Reliance • Izaak Walton League of America - Midwest Office •Izaak Walton League, Minnesota Division • Land Stewardship Project • League of Women Voters of Minnesota Education Fund • Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation • Mankato Area Environmentalists • Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy •Minnesota Conservation Federation • Minnesota Environmental Partnership • Minnesota Food Association • Minnesota Land Trust • Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union • Minnesota Public Interest Research Group • Minnesota Renewable Energy Society • Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter • Minnesota Waters • Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate • Renewing the Countryside • Save Lake Superior Association • Sierra Club, North Star Chapter • Southeastern Minnesotans for Environmental Protection (SEMEP) • Voyageurs National Park Association • Will Steger Foundation • Windustry

Much of this information is also available on a 2-page fact sheet on 2011 Critical Area legislation.

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