EAGAN, Minn. – The federal order for Minnesota to push ahead rapidly to mitigate nitrate contamination in drinking water is too much too soon, according to a farm industry leader on water issues. Warren Formo, executive director of the Minnesota Agriculture Water Resource Center, said the state Agriculture Department is already using its 2019 Groundwater Protection Rule to put together a clear picture of the issue. “More time is needed to see whether the rule can make a difference,” Formo said. He noted that the Agriculture Department has had long-standing concern about groundwater. In 1990, he said, there was a nitrogen fertilizer management plan to identify scientific methods for groundwater protection. By 2015 the plan had evolved into a process, admittedly cumbersome, with multiple formal and informal comment periods and hearings before an administrative law judge. In 2019 the current Groundwater Protection Rule took effect to restrict application of nitrogen fertilizer in the fall and on frozen soils in areas vulnerable to contamination. The rule outlines steps to reduce the severity of contamination where nitrate in public wells is already elevated.
Earlier: Feds get serious, order Minnesota to fix tainted water
Formo. Farm lobbyist on water issues.