WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01), member of the House Committee on Agriculture and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture, sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and Regional Administrator Anne Vogel requesting the agency rescind an April 2023 petition by environmental activists related to elevated nitrates in eight Minnesota counties throughout the Karst Region. 

In the letter, Congressman Finstad requested EPA immediately rescind its acceptance of the April 2023 petition and withdraw the resulting November 2023 letter to state agencies in Minnesota, writing: 

Dear Administrator Zeldin and Regional Administrator Vogel: 

I write today concerning the emergency petition submitted under section 1431 of the Drinking Water Act received by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April 2023, and the subsequent actions taken by the EPA under the Biden Administration, as well as the State of Minnesota under Governor Tim Walz. 

On April 24, 2023, several organizations, many of which have a well-documented history of anti-agriculture environmental activism, submitted a petition focused on nitrate levels in eight counties within Minnesota’s Karst Region. Alarmingly, the April petition urged the EPA to issue orders that would “Prohibit concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) from expanding or constructing new operations…”¹ 

Within six months of receiving the politically motivated and non-science-based petition, EPA Region 5 inspectors arrived unannounced at three livestock facilities in Winona and Olmsted counties. These visits took place during peak harvest season and involved several hours of on-site questioning and review. The following day, on November 3, 2023, EPA Region 5 sent a letter to the three relevant state agencies – the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) – which, among other things, encouraged the state agencies to develop and implement more restrictive CAFO permitting standards.² 

Southern Minnesota farmers, in partnership with state agencies, have long demonstrated a commitment to protecting their natural resources as they work to produce the highest quality, lowest-cost food supply in the history of the world. For example, the MDA’s voluntary Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan (NFMP) has helped farmers proactively prevent and minimize nitrate contamination in groundwater.³ Additionally, during the State of Minnesota’s 2024 legislative session, funding was provided for the MDH to make available free private well test kits for wells in the eight southeast Minnesota counties referenced in the petition.⁴ Most recently, the Southeast Minnesota Nitrates Strategies Collaborative Work Group released a report outlining recommendations for state agencies to address nitrate levels in drinking water.⁵ 

Despite these ongoing efforts, the MPCA has moved forward with finalizing new State Disposal System (SDS) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general feedlot permits. It has also initiated a rulemaking to revise Chapter 7020 feedlot rules, which govern facilities with less than 1,000 animal units.⁶ Each of these actions cite and rely on the EPA’s November 2023 letter.⁷ 

In your written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, you rightly affirmed: 

“We must do everything in our power to harness the greatness of American innovation with the greatness of American conservation and environmental stewardship…We can, and we must, protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy. A big part of this will require building private sector collaboration to promote common sense, smart regulation that will allow American innovation to continue to lead the world.”⁸ 

Over the past 70 years, through innovation and the adoption of precision agriculture technology, American farmers have increased their production output by 175 percent while using fewer inputs, including land, water, and fertilizer.⁹ Farmers have made these advancements, not because the government told them to, but to preserve their land, their livelihoods, and our nation’s food supply for future generations. 

Given these realities, I respectfully urge the EPA to immediately rescind its acceptance of the April 2023 petition by environmental activists and withdraw the resulting November 2023 letter to state agencies in Minnesota. 

Moreover, I would welcome the opportunity to host you in southeastern Minnesota to meet directly with the farmers who uphold the values of environmental stewardship and responsible agriculture every day, individuals engaged in one of the most noble and honorable professions this country has to offer. 

Thank you for your leadership on behalf of American farmers and the resources they rely on. 

Sincerely,
Brad Finstad
Member of Congress

Click here for a PDF of the letter.