MPCA tries to restart Environmental Justice Advisory Group amid significant trust issues

This Tuesday, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is hosting an information session for those interested in applying for its Environmental Justice Advisory Group (EJ Advisory Group).

This is vitally important work. Potential applicants be warned, however, that the MPCA has not taken this group seriously in the past. The majority of its members (12 of 17) resigned in November, 2020 because the agency’s decision to permit the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline. The advisory group opposed the permits because of the project’s disproportionate impact on Anishinaabe Tribes located in northern Minnesota.

The fact that the MPCA has taken this long to reconstitute the group is a troubling sign.

Members of the MPCA’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee discuss mass resignation, and other news

In this blog:

• Members of the MPCA’s Environmental Justice Advisory Group explain why they resigned
• As U.S. Presidents turn, Indigenous Environmental Network sues to stop Keystone XL
• Upcoming prayerful events to oppose Enbridge Line 3
• New York pension fund announces divestment from fossil fuels
• For the Dakota, December is “Tree Popping Moon”