The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) opened a public comment period on the adequacy of the state’s Groundwater Protection Rule. The action was 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).
As part of its mission to ensure corn farmers have the tools they need to productively and efficiently raise a crop, MCGA submitted comments to MDA on the rule. The following is a summary of those comments.
The Minnesota Groundwater Protection Rule (GPR) provides a strong, targeted framework for limiting nitrate-nitrogen impacts from commercial fertilizer to groundwater. The rule emphasizes local collaboration, adoption of best management practices (BMPs), and includes meaningful escalatory steps when nitrate-nitrogen levels are elevated.
Because groundwater moves slowly through aquifers, near-term nitrate monitoring observations often reflect historical conditions. As a result, the rule should be evaluated over its full implementation cycle, and additional restrictions are unnecessary.
The GPR is correct to take a targeted approach to nitrate-nitrogen mitigation. More than 99% of Minnesota’s community public water systems comply with the federal nitrate standard of 10 mg NO3-N per liter, and 93% have average source-water nitrate-nitrogen concentrations within the normal background range of 0–3 mg NO3-N per liter. Statewide ground and surface water monitoring data do not show widespread statistically significant increasing trends in nitrate-nitrogen concentrations.
The GPR consists of two parts comprised of separate criteria and associated requirements. Part 1 of the GPR restricts the application of nitrogen fertilizer in the fall and on frozen soils if you farm in 1) an area with vulnerable groundwater or 2) those protection areas around a municipal public well, known as a drinking water supply management area (DWSMAs), with high nitrate-nitrogen concentrations. To see if you farm in a vulnerable groundwater area, view the vulnerable groundwater areas map.
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