Who We Are

We all need clean air and clean water to live healthy lives. Fortunately, Minnesota legislators have passed good laws to protect people and our environment. We know the laws can defend Minnesota’s natural resources.

But when state agency decision makers fail to enforce our laws, we all lose. It is the job of state agencies such as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Health to follow the laws intended to protect us from corporate polluters. Unfortunately, those agencies are failing to protect Minnesotans too often.

The problem is “polluter capture” of state agencies, where corporate polluters have too much influence over how they are regulated. We are calling on Governor Walz to direct his state agencies to do their jobs and prioritize Minnesotans, not polluters.

On this site, we’ve collected a dozen examples of agency failures that speak for themselves. From polluted drinking water in southern Minnesota to damaged rice beds in northern Minnesota, to lead and chemical exposures in Minneapolis and White Bear Lake, this problem impacts all Minnesotans.

We have come together to say “Enough!” We aim to break polluters’ grip on state agency decision makers and once again make Minnesota a national leader in environmental protection.

We are calling on the Minnesota Legislature to provide the oversight necessary to hold state agency decision makers accountable to their missions. We request hearings – during the interim between the 2024 and 2025 sessions – for state agency leaders to publicly answer questions about how their decisions align with their mission and core values.