Mission Failure

Polluter capture is evident in two state agencies whose decisions have the greatest impact on Minnesota’s environment: the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 

The MPCA’s mission is: “To protect and improve the environment and human health.”

As the case studies on this website show, agency permit and enforcement decisions fail “to protect and improve the environment and human health”; they compromise them. 

The DNR’s mission is “to work with Minnesotans to conserve and manage the state’s natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life.”

As the case studies on this website show, the DNR fails to explain how the projects it approves, such as the Line 3/93 pipeline, contribute to “a sustainable quality of life.” It has a spotty record of working with citizens and organizations concerned about the environment to “conserve and manage the state’s natural resources.”

The agencies are not required to report to the public on how they are doing meeting the lofty goals they have set out.