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Dear neighbors,
This week is Pollinator Week, a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture.
This year, DFLers continued to take action to protect our pollinators. We created a dedicated pollinator account to support pollinator habitat statewide, invested $800,000 in the popular Lawns to Legumes program to help Minnesotans make their lawns more pollinator friendly, and codified endangered species protections for the native Rusty-Patched Bumblebee, Minnesota?s state bee!
Check out the Blue Thumb site for more information on how you can apply for the Spring 2025 round of Lawns to Legumes funding: https://bwsr.state.mn.us/l2l
It?s been about a month since the 2024 legislative session adjourned, and this has been the most productive legislature I have been a part of. As Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources committee, we passed the largest investment in environmental protection in state history, and that historic progress was seen in nearly all areas.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy wrote an opinion piece in the Star Tribune titled ?That was the most consequential legislature in generations?. I encourage you to read and share it to learn more about the work done that will benefit Minnesotans for generations to come.
Now that session is complete, I will be compiling information from our nonpartisan staff on various issue areas we addressed in the Environment Committee this year.
Next up is the oil and gas (helium) related provisions passed in the environment and natural resources bill. As you may have heard, there is a lot of helium up on the Iron Range, and recent reports of corporate mining interest in these deposits prompted the Legislature to set a regulatory framework for the safe extraction of helium:
- The DNR was authorized to lease state lands for purposes of prospecting for and extracting gas and oil.
- A provision requiring gas and oil leases to be approved by the Executive Council.
- A provision prohibiting the production of gas or oil without a permit was passed along with certain requirements for the permits. The DNR is prohibited from issuing a permit for gas or oil production until a temporary permit framework.
- A provision requires the DNR to amend and adopt certain rules pertaining to the production of gas and oil. The provision also allows other agencies (the PCA, Department of Health (MDH), Environmental Quality Board, and the Department of Labor and Industry) to adopt rules pertaining to the production of gas and oil. Requires an agency adopting rules to use the expedited rulemaking procedure and publish a notice of intent to adopt rules within 24 months of the effective date of the provision.
- A provision establishes a process for applying for leases and specifies the terms for the leases. It allows the DNR to require applicants to provide financial assurance. It requires a lessee to pay a production royalty to the DNR of not less than 18.75 percent of the gross sales price of the product. Requires the payments to be distributed in the same way similar payments from iron ore are distributed.
- The Minnesota Gas and Oil Resources Technical Advisory Committee was established to develop recommendations on the production of gas and oil to guide the creation of a temporary regulatory framework that will govern permitting until rules are adopted.
Please continue to share your questions, ideas, and feedback throughout the year. You can reach me by email at?[email protected]?or by phone at 651-296-6828. You can contact my Legislative Assistant Sam O'Neill at 651-296-3305 or via email at?[email protected].?
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative
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