Ag finance bill would address water quality
An effort to impose a new state fee on nitrogen fertilizers has stalled, while southeast Minnesota residents could soon get new state resources to address nitrates in private wells.
Those are among the key takeaways of the omnibus agriculture bills released this past week by the chairs of the state House and state Senate Agriculture committees. The House bill includes both finance and policy provisions, while the Senate bill only covers finance.
The House bill, HF3763, is sponsored by House Agriculture Committee Chair Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center), and the Senate bill, SF3955, is sponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Aric Putnam (DFL-St. Cloud). Neither bill includes the proposed nitrogen fertilizer fee, which would increase costs for family farmers at a time of decreasing crop prices and tight margins.
HF3763 would allocate $3.07 million for nitrate treatment and $223,000 for a new private well drinking water assistance program. The program would allocate funds to community health boards in areas with elevated nitrate levels.
SF3955 would allocate $750,000 to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) for water treatments, such as reverse osmosis, at homes in southeast Minnesota connected to private wells with elevated nitrate levels. It would also allocate $2 million to the Minnesota Department of Health to establish a mitigation program for contaminated wells,
Other provisions in HF3763 would:
- Increase by $300,000 the amount allocated to a state soil health equipment grant program in 2025. This program has strong support from farmers, as demonstrated by the overwhelming number of applications the program has received over the last two years. However, there are proposed changes to the statutory language that could decrease its effectiveness.
- Increase by $100,000 the amount allocated to the state’s biofuel infrastructure grant program in 2025.
- Extend the expiring 40 cents per ton fertilizer fee. Through June 2025, the money would go toward the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council (AFREC). Afterward, it would go toward the new private drinking water assistance program, but the AFREC program would no longer exist after 2026 if the House bill were to become law.
- Require MDA to convene stakeholders and develop a report on the potential of the establishment of a state carbon credit market.
Other provisions in SF3955 would allocate:
- $500,000 for soil health grants in southeast Minnesota.
- $300,000 for grants to livestock producers to prevent the spread of avian influenza.
- $50,000 for a working group to recommend options for addressing crop and fence destruction by deer.
- $50,000 to prepare a report on agricultural land trends.
- The bill would also extend AFREC for 10 years and the 40 cents per ton fertilizer fee to fund research investments on fertilizer efficiency and soil fertility programs for all of Minnesota’s agricultural crops.
HF3763 was given an overview and testimony in y the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday and the committee will debate amendments and move the bill on Thursday. SF3955 was given an overview and testimony in the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday and debate among members, consideration of amendments and passage will occur on Wednesday. Once the bills receive approval in their respective chambers, a conference committee will meet to sort through the differences in the bills.
Other funding for water quality
HF3763 and SF3955 aren’t the only bills that would address water quality in southeast Minnesota. The omnibus legacy finance bills would also allocate funds to help state agencies implement the workplan developed in response to the EPA petition on nitrates in groundwater in southeast Minnesota.
Sponsored by House Legacy Finance Committee Chair Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul), HF4124 would provide $1 million to MDA to accelerate implementation of the nitrogen fertilizer management plan with a focus on southeast Minnesota. It would also allocate $3.4 million to MDA for the Agriculture Best Management Practices Loan Program and $2.79 million to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for southeast Minnesota response for well testing and inventory. Additionally, it would allocate $2 million for the Pollution Control Agency’s Continuous Nitrate Sensor Network.
Sponsored by Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee Chair Foung Hawj (DFL-St. Paul), SF 5116 would allocate an additional $1 million for actions to protect groundwater from nitrate. It would also allocate $3 million for the Agriculture Best Management Practices Loan Program and $2 million for the Continuous Nitrate Sensor Network. Another $917,000 would go to MDH for the public health response to nitrates in private wells.
In his supplemental budget proposal released in March, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz allocated $7.09 million to address nitrates in southeast Minnesota. You can read more about the status of the bills throughout the remainder of the session at mncorn.org/news.
