Minnesota Environmental Partnership

Overview:minnesota Environmental Partnership (mep) works in a unique way to bring together the energies and passions of Environmental and conservation nonprofits and allies into a single powerful voice. We work in synchrony with our members at the state and federal level, and we educate and mobilize the public on pressing Environmental laws, investments, and initiatives.see schedule oas a coalition, mep's role is to bring organizations together to network, collaborate, and advocate, building their individual effectiveness while working on coalition-identified priorities and initiatives. Mep coordinates member efforts so our community-wide resources are used as effectively and efficiently as possible, providing the leadership, expertise, communications and outreach, convening, and technical assistance needed to achieve results. To this end, mep provides the Environmental community with the following services:1. Leadership and expertise on collaborative issue initiatives2. Communications research, messaging and training 3. Public education and media4. Citizen engagement with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion5. Educating decision-makersthree largest programs and achievements for fy23mep's programs are focused on protecting and restoring Minnesota's natural resources and protecting human health, with a clear commitment to Environmental justice. Mep works to support and coordinate groups focused on important outcomes such as frontline communities protection and safeguarding the state's funds that are constitutionally dedicated to the environment. Through these working groups, members share information and resources, create shared positions and execute strategies. We also work together to identify and support annual community legislative priorities. While our clusters work on initiatives year-round, the legislative session is a significant focus of our work. Mep's ongoing initiatives are outlined below with highlights from fiscal year 23.program one: achievements in clean water work in fy23investing in clean water and living landscapesa longstanding priority issue for mep has been educating decision-makers and the public about the detriments of agricultural pollution to streams, rivers, lakes, and drinking water. We've advocated for solutions like buffers and the forever green initiative which is an innovative program of the university of Minnesota that's developing and implementing new perennial and winter annual cover crops to prevent farm runoff, increase productivity, and improve habitat and climate resiliency. With strong mep presence on the forever green Partnership steering council, the program received significant state funding in the 2023 legislature and has helped move new crops forward. .protecting our water from sulfide miningproposed sulfide mines in northeast Minnesota, including the polymet northmet project and the twin metals Minnesota project, threaten our lakes and rivers with significant ongoing water pollution. Mep has leveraged our position to convene the mining cluster, which helps groups convene, communicate and collaborate on their strategies and met ten times during this fiscal year. Cluster member groups have led successful legal campaigns that have halted most of polymet's permits so the project remains in limbo. For example, the corps of engineers withdrew polymet's wetlands permit because of the anticipated negative impacts on the water quality at fond du lac reservation downstream. Additionally, we've been publicly highlighting the danger, especially from mercury, to downstream communities within the st. louis river watershed and lake superior, producing a video that featured frontline voices with concerns about mercury in the river. The mep mining cluster continues substantial engagement in a new sulfide mining project, a nickel mine proposed by talon minerals in the upper reaches of the Mississippi river. Program two: achievements in protecting the great lakes in fy23minnesota is the headwaters state for the great lakes, with 190 miles of rugged lake superior shoreline among its natural assets. Federal advocacymep's coalition continues to support the great lakes restoration initiative (glri), a long-term regional plan to restore the lakes and stimulate the region's economy. The mep coalition has educated decision makers in dc about the benefits of full funding for glri, as well as leveraging state dollars through the legacy amendment and the bonding bill. Mep actively participates in the healing our waters coalition, and along with that coalition we are turning our focus to Environmental justice issues. Mep led two advocacy visits with congressional staff on great lakes issues, online november 2022 and in-person march 2023, where citizens were able to talk directly with their congressional offices. Mep employed a full-time staff member and a half-time organizer in our duluth office for this work.protecting families from lead in their drinking waterin duluth and now in two harbors, mep staff and community partners have helped over 60 families in lower-income neighborhoods identify whether their drinking water is contaminated with lead. Sadly, about one-third of the families do have lead in their drinking water. Mep staff led support efforts to the 2023 legislature as they passed a major investment in lead service line replacement statewide, matching funds from the federal government.program 3: achievements in climate and Environmental justice in fy23organizing in the climate justice communitymep's director of advocacy and inclusion has made substantial connections with statewide and twin cities-based frontline community organizations, especially groups that deal with Environmental justice and climate issues. Some of the major policy issues mep staff have addressed include new cumulative impacts rulemaking and innovative funding for conservation work in the Environmental justice community through a rededication of the state lottery program. Clean energy policymep's coalitional work at the 2023 legislature helped educate lawmakers in a set of dramatic accomplishments. The historic 100% bill, passed early in the session, established a goal to achieve a transition to 100% clean-electricity in Minnesota by 2040. The statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal was established to reduce the state's cross-sector, economy-wide emissions to net-zero carbon by 2050.