Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 26 OcTOber 2017

Minnesota wild rice rule irks industry and environmentalists

By STEVE KARNOWSKI East were instructed by nership and several tribes
Associated Press the Creator to go west to say the state should keep
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The “where the food grows on — and enforce — the exist-
Minnesota Pollution Control the water.” ing standard instead of re-
Agency kicks off a week of Native American activists placing it with an equation
public hearings Monday aren’t just worried about they say is unenforceable
on changing a water qual- sulfates. and would allow more sul-
ity standard that’s meant The potential threat to wild fate pollution in some wild
to protect wild rice, a pro- rice waters is a main rea- rice waters.
posal that has managed son why tribal groups op- They cite research by Uni-
to anger environmentalists pose Enbridge Energy’s versity of Minnesota Duluth
and industry alike. proposal to replace its ag- biologist John Pastor that
The proposal would ing Line 3 crude oil pipeline undercuts the theory that
change Minnesota’s stan- across northern Minnesota iron protects against sul-
dard for sulfate discharges with a new pipeline that fides.
into waters where wild rice would follow a new corri- They also say the agency’s
grows from the current flat dor much of the way. proposed list of 1,300 wild
limit of 10 milligrams per In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Jerrad Ojibway and Ed Jaakola INDUSTRY OPPOSITION rice waters missed water
liter to a more complicat- bag about 80 pounds of wild rice they harvested from Deadfish The Iron Mining Association bodies that should have
ed formula based on the Lake on the Fond du Lac reservation. of Minnesota opposes the been on the list.
characteristics of individual Associated Press proposed new standard. THE HEARINGS
lakes and streams. Here’s a operate wastewater treat- by bacteria in sediments It says the science is still The hearings will be Mon-
look at some of the issues: ment facilities. into sulfides that are toxic flawed and there’s no day in St. Paul, Tuesday
THE SULFATE STANDARD They said complying would to wild rice plants. proof it will protect wild in Virginia, Bemidji on
Minnesota’s existing stan- be too expensive and The agency says the re- rice. Wednesday, Cloquet on
dard, adopted in 1973, is challenged the validity of search also found that iron But it says the costs to min- Thursday and Brainerd on
based on research from the old science. in sediments tends to neu- ing companies and waste- Friday.
the 1930s and 40s that The 2011 Legislature di- tralize sulfides, while organ- water treatment facilities There will also be a pub-
found wild rice doesn’t rected the state agency to ic carbon leads to more of complying would ex- lic videoconference Nov.
grow well in waters with study whether the old stan- sulfides. ceed $1 billion. 2 from the state agency’s
higher sulfate levels. dard needed updating The proposed rules are a Mining supporters plan to offices in Detroit Lakes, Du-
When the state finally based on new science. The lake-by-lake approach in- rally before marching to luth, Mankato, Marshall,
moved toward enforcing ensuing research found tended to limit sulfides to Tuesday’s hearing in Vir- Rochester and St. Paul.
the standard several years that sulfates by themselves 120 micrograms per liter. ginia, Minnesota. They’ve The Office of Administra-
ago, it triggered pushback aren’t the problem. “We believe the changes held two public events this tive Hearings is taking writ-
from the iron mining indus- The problem is that sulfates we’re proposing are an in- week to prepare. ten comments through
try and communities that in the water get converted novative and precise ap- ENVIRONMENTAL OPPOSI- Nov. 22.
proach to protecting wild TION The agency has not set a
rice,” MPCA Commissioner Environmental groups are deadline for deciding on
John Linc Stine has said. urging their supporters to the new rules, which also
THE IMPORTANCE OF WILD attend the hearings, too. require approval from the
RICE WaterLegacy, the Minne- U.S. Environmental Protec-
Wild rice, also called ma- sota Environmental Part- tion Agency.q
noomin, is more than just
an important food for
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