Cumulative impacts community engagement and community benefit agreements

The MPCA has begun work to implement a groundbreaking new law to remedy Minnesotans’ disproportionate exposure to pollutants. The law defines environmental justice areas and requires the MPCA to conduct a rulemaking process to address the cumulative impacts of pollution during permitting processes. 

  

On Oct. 23, 2024, the MPCA held the next working session in a series for the cumulative impacts rulemaking. This working session built upon the community benefit agreements working session we held in August. The purpose of the work session and this opportunity for public input is to continue the process of co-creating a process for community engagement and communities' role in creating community benefit agreements. A community benefit agreement is an agreement that is unique to each neighborhood and the impacted communities and will become a legal and enforceable contract between the MPCA and the permittee. 

 

Initial proposed processes are based on


  • research into how other states have implemented community benefit agreements or similar agreements
  • information gathered from the Cumulative Impacts Conversation: Community Benefit Agreements co-learning webinar  
  • information gathered from the August working session on community benefit agreements

 

Future working sessions and public comment periods will focus on other parts of the rule. 




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Please review the presentation slides and the handouts that were provided at the working session by clicking the “Review documents” button below. The handouts are specific to the questions below.  

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Question 1 of 5

Do the following categories adequately provide for the types of benefits that you would like to see in a community benefit agreement?


  • facility implements measures at its facility to avoid contributing to stressors
  • facility implements measures at its facility to minimize contributions to stressors
  • facility implements measures in the community to reduce stressors to which the facility will contribute
  • facility implements measures in the community to reduce stressors to which the facility will not contribute 
  • facility implements measures to provide a net environmental benefit

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Question 2 of 5

The MPCA is considering prioritizing the following categories (the same categories from the previous question) based on their ability to offset environmental and public health stressors in a community. Would you support this approach? 


  • facility implements measures at its facility to avoid contributing to stressors
  • facility implements measures at its facility to minimize contributions to stressors
  • facility implements measures in the community to reduce stressors to which the facility will contribute
  • facility implements measures in the community to reduce stressors to which the facility will not contribute 
  • facility implements measures to provide a net environmental benefit

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Question 3 of 5

Who should represent communities in a community benefit agreement? 

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Question 4 of 5

What methods should be required for holding public meetings? What information is most important to include in a public meeting notice? 

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Question 5 of 5

What methods should be required for taking public comments and communicating back what was heard? 

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