In Line With Stipulation Agreement, MDA Opens Public Comment Period On Groundwater Protection Rule

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has opened a public comment period on the adequacy of the state’s Groundwater Protection Rule. The action is in line with a court-approved stipulation agreement between the plaintiffs (a coalition of environmental groups) and the defendants (Attorney General/MDA and a Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) led coalition of farmer organizations). You can read more about the lawsuit and MCGA’s response here.

Last year, the activist groups had sued MDA arguing that the Groundwater Protection Rule doesn’t adequately protect groundwater from nitrate contamination. They sought to have a judge compel the agency to enact further restrictions on commercial nitrogen fertilizer—circumventing the normal administrative rulemaking process that allows for public input.