Environmental groups sue Minnesota agencies over nitrate pollution

Environmental groups are suing state agencies, hoping to speed up efforts to address nitrate contamination in southeast Minnesota.

The groups, which include the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court against the state Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Agriculture. 

It alleges the agencies have failed to adopt regulations that are adequate to protect water resources from farm-related nitrate pollution.

It also asks the agencies to reopen state rules that govern animal manure and commercial fertilizer, major sources of nitrate contamination in groundwater, lakes, rivers and streams.

“We’re here because the rules regarding nitrogen application and manure management just simply aren't working, and they’re not going to get us to clean water,” said John Lenczewski, executive director of Minnesota Trout Unlimited.

Southeast Minnesota's karst geology, with coarse soils and fractured bedrock, is especially vulnerable to nitrate contamination. More than 90,000 Minnesotans who live in the karst region rely on private wells for drinking water.

Drinking water with high nitrate levels poses a health risk to humans, especially infants that can develop a sometimes-fatal condition called methemoglobinemia, or blue baby syndrome.

In 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Minnesota agencies need to take additional steps to protect the region’s drinking water from nitrate pollution.

Since then, Minnesota has made some notable progress, including expanding access to free water tests and strengthening permits for the state’s largest animal feedlots, said Carly Griffith, water program director for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

But the recent federal administration change means “we are at a critical moment to ensure momentum on this issue continues,” Griffith said.

“What we need to do now is strengthen our standards in the administrative rules for feedlots and commercial fertilizer, which are the two primary sources of nitrogen pollution in the state,” she said.

Cherie Hales with the Winona County Clean Water Coalition said the state’s response “has lacked the urgency and funding that we feel is needed” to provide people with safe drinking water and protect groundwater.

“Agriculture is a way of life in southeast Minnesota,” Hales said. “But it’s essential and possible to balance that with protecting the drinking water we all rely on.”

In a joint statement, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Agriculture said the state’s recently completed process for developing the state’s feedlot permits included input from multiple groups, including farmers and environmentalists. The updated permit “walks the line of protecting the environment and supporting farmers in the state,” the statement read.

“As we pivot toward updating the feedlot rules, the state is committed to an equally robust, inclusive and transparent process,” it stated.

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