Democrats offer plan to clean up waterways
"MN Budget"02/09/2006
To meet federal mandate, state lottery would be tapped
BY DENNIS LIENPioneer Press
After forming a caucus to push a conservation agenda, Minnesota House DFLers on Wednesday announced their approach to funding a multimillion-dollar-a-year plan to clean up state lakes and rivers.
Their proposal, which differs from Republican or Senate DFL positions, would lay claim to a portion of state lottery proceeds that now go into the general fund. They say that amount, about $60 million a year, could be bolstered through bonding.
How to pay for the federally required cleanup effort has taken on a new urgency in the upcoming session following a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision last summer that effectively shut down many development projects across the state. The court found that federal law forbids the state from issuing new wastewater discharge permits that add to already polluted waters unless a cleanup plan is in place.
Last year, House Republicans debated a fee structure to pay for the effort, but didn’t pass anything. Last week, Senate DFLers signaled their intent to use general fund money to get it going, and then look to a constitutional amendment as a long-term source.
The brunt of Minnesota State Lottery earnings now goes to the state’s general fund, to be used the same way income taxes are used, and a portion goes to the Environmental and Natural Resources Fund for specific environmental or conservation projects. Almost $60 million in lottery earnings is projected to go to the general fund this year.
House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul, also announced that DFLers had formed a conservation caucus that would champion environmental and conservation efforts and support general fund financing for the environment. In just five years, the percentage of the general fund used for the environment has dropped from 2.2 percent to 1.2 percent.
“Across the board, conservation has to be a priority,’’ Entenza said.
Rep. Jean Wagenius, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, head up the caucus, which has five subgroups.