challenges for a sustainable minnesota · martin kellogg, co-chairs; abby mckenzie and scott...

Challengesfor aSustainableMinnesota

A MinnesotaStrategic Plan forSustainableDevelopment

Minnesota Sustainable Development InitiativeMinnesota Environmental Quality Board

July 1995

Minnesota Planning is charged with developing a long-range plan forthe state, stimulating public participation in Minnesota’s future andcoordinating public policy with state agencies, the Legislature and otherunits of government.

The Environmental Quality Board is Minnesota’s principalenvironmental policy forum. It consists of a governor’s representative aschair, five citizen members and the heads of nine stateenvironmentally-related agencies. The board receives its staff supportfrom Minnesota Planning.

The Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative was launched in1993 by Governor Arne H. Carlson and the Environmental QualityBoard, the Initiative promotes development that enhances economicopportunity and community well-being while protecting and restoringthe natural environment they depend on. It does this primarily throughcooperative public/private discussions, research and a statewidecongress. By providing forums for discussion outside of real crisis, theInitiative offers a constructive alternative to the traditionally contentious,often costly relationship among business, government, andenvironmental interests.

Challenges for a Sustainable Minnesota was co-written byEnvironmental Quality Board staff at Minnesota Planning. John Wells,the Initiative’s coordinator, was chief author, along with Rolf Nordstromand Susan Hass. EQB member agencies provided expert review.

July 1995

Upon request, Challenges for a Sustainable Minnesota will be madeavailable in alternate format, such as Braille, large print or audio tape.For TDD, contact Minnesota Relay Service at (612) 297-5353 or (800)627-3529 and ask for Minnesota Planning.

For additional information or copies of Challenges for a SustainableMinnesota, contact:

Printed on recycled paper with 100 percent post-consumer waste.

658 Cedar St.St. Paul, MN 55155(612) 296-3985

Challenges for aSustainable Minnesota

Summary 1

Introduction 5

Setting a Context 7

Taking the Next Steps Toward Sustainable Development 10

Twenty-One Other Things Minnesotans Could Do for their Future 18

NOTE:

Page 4 of this document is blank, and therefore intentionally omitted from the online version.

Acknowledgments: To launch the Initiative’s first year, the Governorand the Environmental Quality Board appointed 105 business,environmental and civic leaders and asked them to map out a sustainable,long-range vision for Minnesota. Guided by the board’s StrategicPlanning Committee, the seven 15-member teams proposed hundreds ofsustainable approaches to agriculture, energy, forestry, manufacturing,minerals, recreation and settlement. The co-chairs and lead staff for eachteam were as follows:

Settlement: Barbara Lukermann and Molly Woehrlin, Co-chairs;Marilyn Lundberg, lead staff; Manufacturing: Robert Bringer andMartin Kellogg, Co-chairs; Abby McKenzie and Scott Peterson, leadstaff; Agriculture: D’Wayne DeZiel and Robert Rupp, Co-chairs; PaulBurns, lead staff; Energy: Henry Savelkoul and Linda Thrane,Co-chairs; Mike McCarthy, lead staff; Forestry: Charles Pottenger andDick Skok, Co-chairs; Mike Kilgore, lead staff; Minerals: NelsonFrench and William Ulland, Co-chairs; Dave Olson and MaryannaHarstad, lead staff; Recreation: Cindy Hayden and Dave Lime,Co-chairs; Tim Kelly, lead staff.

Expert facilitation during the first year was provided to the teams byKatherine Barton and Terri Yearwood, DNR; and Jim Addington, MirjaHanson, Charles Petersen and Georgie Peterson, Department of Admini-stration.

Summary

The Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative has concluded that inthe long run, the state cannot afford to choose between a healthy economyand protecting its environment.

Because all economic and social activity depends on healthy and renew-ing natural resources, the goals of environmental quality and economicdevelopment must be considered together. To be sustainable, developmentmust become inherently compatible with the environment it dependsupon. Public policies and market incentives must reward such develop-ment.

Challenges for a Sustainable Minnesota is a starting point for discussinghow best to pursue sustainable development in Minnesota. The documentoffers a vision, new decision-making principles and recommendations forachieving the Initiative’s main goals: sustaining Minnesota’s economy,ecosystems and communities, educating its citizens and organizing its in-stitutions for sustainable development. The Initiative suggests six strate-gic directions for achieving these goals:

Aligning Minnesota�s Economic Incentives and Goals

Minnesota needs to provide consistent economic rewards for sustainablebehavior and incentives for reducing pollution and waste. Natural re-sources have traditionally been considered “free” goods, and thus haveoften been overused. The real, but difficult to measure, costs of pollution,environmental deterioration and depletion of natural resources do not ap-pear on anybody’s balance sheet. To be sustainable, decisions in the futurewill need to account for these true costs. Some recommended strategiesfor aligning the state’s incentives and goals are:

Remove barriers to sustainable development (subsidies, taxes, regula-tions, and so forth)

Encourage growth of sustainable manufacturing by reducing businesstaxes, fees and regulations while increasing fees for waste and pollution.

Set state permit fees to represent the costs of environmental damage,resource use and depletion.

Understanding What is EnvironmentallySustainable

A great deal has been learned in the last 20 years about how ecosystemsfunction and respond to human-caused disturbances but more informationis needed on the regeneration rates and assimilative capacities of differentnatural systems. Strategies here include:

Minnesota Planning 1

Design an environmental quality indicators system to routinely trackenvironmental trends.

Expand resource monitoring and inventories.

Integrating Natural Resources Management

Despite a number of federal and state programs dedicated to the wise useand management of Minnesota’s land and water resources, they continueto be degraded and habitat destroyed. Two recommended strategies are:

Integrate air, land and water permitting.

Create integrated, interdisciplinary long-range ecosystem plans.

Advancing Sustainable Land Use and CommunityDevelopment Policies

The community is the place where the diverse social, economic and envi-ronmental goals of sustainable development come together. Strategies toencourage sustainable land use and community development are:

Establish discussion forums on sustainable development.

Create or encourage nonprofit advocacy groups.

Develop a sustainable communities pilot program.

Develop indicators of sustainable communities.

Adopt state goals for sustainable use of land throughout Minnesota.

Adopt a planning framework to carry out these goals.

Asking Government to Take the First Steps

The state can serve as a model for sustainable development by applyingthe Initiative’s principles in its own operations. Strategies toward this endinclude:

Establish a Minnesota sustainable development “round table.”

Apply the principles of sustainable development in state activities.

Account for full costs.

Support sustainable manufacturing through state purchasing policy.

Restructure government to connect social, economic and environ-mental policy development.

Add sustainable development goals to Minnesota Milestones and de-velop strategies for meeting them.

2 Challenges for a Sustainable Minnesota

Focusing Research on Sustainable DevelopmentIssues

Progress toward sustainable development will require sound research on anumber of questions, including: assessing the state’s incentives and disin-centives for sustainable development; substituting taxes on waste and pol-lution for those on property or other business taxes; and understandingwhat levels of development are environmentally sustainable. Two key op-portunities for beginning to answer these and other questions are:

Collaborate with Minnesota’s universities.

Establish an institute for sustainable development.

Like other states and nations around the world, Minnesota faces the chal-lenge of reshaping its economy to more closely mirror the efficiency andself-sustaining qualities of natural systems. The time to begin the transi-tion is now.


Challenges for a

Sustainable

Minnesota

Introduction

Challenges for a Sustainable Minnesota is a strategy for moving Minne-sota toward development that improves people’s lives over the long termwhile sustaining the natural resources future generations will need. Thestrategy suggests priorities and develops recommendations for achievingthe Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative’s five main goals:

Sustaining Minnesota�s economy. Rural areas, small cities and ur-ban neighborhoods throughout the state will be economically viableplaces for people to live and work.

Sustaining Minnesota�s ecosystems. The environment will be bio-logically and ecologically diverse and able to provide the resource bene-fits, products and services needed for the indefinite future.

Sustaining Minnesota�s communities. Minnesota’s communi-ties will be desirable places to live and work, where growth and declineare managed to conserve resources and enhance the quality of life.

Educating for sustainable development. Minnesotans will under-stand the interrelationships between healthy natural systems, livable com-munities and long-term economic prosperity and work to achieve allthree.

Organizing for sustainable development. Minnesotans will beserved by institutions that consistently reward economically efficient, so-cially beneficial and environmentally sustainable behavior.

Minnesotans today are asking new questions about how to maintain thehealth of their communities, the natural surroundings that define so muchof their lives in this state and their opportunities to secure and keep goodjobs.

How can Minnesotans help transform economic development so that itconsistently produces real wealth, and enhances environmental qualityand community health?

How can we ensure that Minnesota uses its land and natural resourcesin ways the environment can sustain and taxpayers can afford?

What natural features are so much a part of the state’s heritage andidentity that Minnesotans want to pass them on to future generations?

How can Minnesotans protect individual freedoms and ensure that theirdecisions about where to live, how much to consume and how to make

�Whether paid directly as

cleanup costs or indirectly as

diminished health,

productivity or opportunity,

environmental degradation

reduces our existing wealth

and the potential for

ourselves and our

descendants to create new

wealth.�

� Sustainable Development

Initiative Energy Team

�Sustainable development

needs to be institutionalized

as a cornerstone from which

future state economic

development and

environmental policies are

developed and judged.�


Initiative Forestry Team


and move goods result in sustainable communities and appealing land-scapes?

This draft plan is a starting point for discussing how best to pursue sus-tainable development in Minnesota. To guide public policy effectively,this plan will need to reflect the collective wisdom and experience of Min-nesotans throughout the state. The Environmental Quality Board wants toknow whether Minnesotans feel these strategic directions are where theywant to focus their efforts. It hopes to hear from individuals and organiza-tions about whether the plan focuses on those strategies that are mostlikely to move the state toward community development that is environ-mentally sustainable.

Send comments on this plan to: John Wells, coordinator, Minnesota Sustain-able Development Initiative, 300 Centennial Bldg., 658 Cedar St., St. Paul,Minnesota 55155.


Setting a Context

While Minnesota has combined economic development and environ-mental quality to the benefit of most of its citizens, it still suffers fromsuch problems as uncoordinated growth, traffic congestion, disappearingfarmlands and declining rural communities. New development is increas-ingly dispersed, leapfrogging over opportunities for efficient land use.And the growth that is occurring is not benefiting all Minnesotans. Morechildren, especially those of color, are living in poverty, and economic condi-tions and educational attainment for people of color still lag far behind thosefor whites.

Environmentalists, business leaders and government officials in Minne-sota have sometimes viewed economic development and environmentalquality as mutually exclusive goals: jobs versus conservation, economicprosperity versus environmental protection, humans versus endangeredspecies. Corporations and environmental groups have done much of theircommunicating in courtrooms and legislative hearings, while governmenthas relied on costly, punitive regulations to ensure some measure of envi-ronmental quality. The result of attempting to solve problems this way hastoo often been development that degrades the natural systems upon whichit depends and environmental arguments that ignore people’s need foreconomic opportunity.

A New Path

The principles of sustainable development offer a new path to resolvingthese issues. Because Minnesota has finite land and resources and a grow-ing population, people must find ways of meeting their needs withoutwasting or degrading the natural resources upon which future prosperitydepends. This is the essential meaning and challenge of sustainable devel-opment.

To be truly sustainable over the long-term, development activities must:

Create no more pollution and waste than the environment can recycleor render harmless.

Use renewable resources, such as water, timber and fish, no faster thanthey can regenerate.

Use up finite resources, such as oil and minerals, no faster than renew-able substitutes can be developed.

Increase the number and quality of jobs to improve people’s quality of life.

Use land — a finite resource that has no substitute — in ways that meetpeople’s diverse needs, conserve financial and natural resources, and pre-serve its ability to meet future needs.

Take into account the impact of today’s decisions on future generations.

Sustainable development maintains or enhances economic opportunityand community well-being while protecting and restoring the natural en-vironment upon which quality of life depends. Sustainable development

�An informed citizenry will

play a primary role in

successfully pursuing

sustainable development

principles in Minnesota.�


Initiative Minerals Team

Minnesota produces 4.4

million tons of solid

waste each year � more

than enough to fill the

Metrodome six times.

� Minnesota Pollution

Control Agency

Minnesota's Solid Waste Disposal in 1994

Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

on Sitein Landfills

Recycled Incinerated Disposed Composted Disposed Problem

41%

29%

24%

2% 2% 2%

Waste


Minnesota�s Solid WasteDisposal in 1994


meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs. It is long-term conservation of thecapacity to meet needs.

The Minnesota Sustainable Development

Initiative

In early 1993, Governor Arne H. Carlson and the Environmental QualityBoard launched the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative. Ac-knowledging that no economy or society can exist in the long run withouta healthy, productive natural environment, the Initiative aims to promotepolicies, institutions and behaviors that are socially, economically and en-vironmentally sustainable.

To launch the Initiative, the Governor and the EQB asked 105 business,environmental and civic leaders to cooperatively map out a sustainable,long-range vision for Minnesota. Seven 15-member teams met regularlyto discuss how the state can adopt sustainable approaches to agriculture,energy, forestry, manufacturing, minerals, recreation and settlement.Through this collaborative process, the Initiative has crafted proposals in-tended to fundamentally change the way Minnesotans create economicopportunity, protect their natural heritage and sustain their communities.

The citizens who participated in the first year of the Minnesota Sustain-able Development Initiative produced hundreds of recommendations forchanging the economic, political and institutional realities that shape Min-nesotans’ lives. This document provides a way to set priorities for theserecommendations; pursue them in a logical sequence; relate them to spe-cific, achievable objectives; and communicate the steps Minnesota mighttake to become a sustainable state. A single document will provide the fo-cal point for discussions by diverse individuals and institutions to simulta-neously work toward the same end.

�Without measurable goals, it

is difficult to tell whether

adequate progress is

being achieved.�


Initiative Manufacturing Team

�The real value of natural and

environmental resources is not

reflected in current pricing

methods. As a result, these

resources tend to be overused

and degraded.�


Initiative Recreation Team

Vision of the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative

We Minnesotans make commit-

ments and choices to preserve

the options future generations

will need to secure the quality of

life we now enjoy.

We see sustainable develop-

ment as a positive, fundamental

change in the way we define

social progress, do business and

protect the environment.

We view the health of our

natural environment, the

strength of our community and

our economic security as

interdependent.

We maintain our quality of

life through sustainable use of

energy and natural resources,

recognizing that population

growth, resource consumption

and lifestyle choices determine

the options we leave for future

generations.

Our communities are places

where all citizens enjoy rich

opportunities in education,

employment, involvement in

community and appreciation of

the environment.

Our economy is healthy, diver-

sified, globally competitive and in

harmony with Minnesota�s ecosys-

tems; it provides all citizens am-

ple opportunity for a fulfilling life.

Our natural environment is

biologically and ecologically di-

verse and able to provide the re-

source benefits, products and

services needed for the indefinite

future.

We continually work to change

our political and economic sys-

tems so that they consistently re-

ward economically efficient,

socially beneficial and environ-

mentally sustainable behavior.


General Principles of Sustainable

Development

The nine principles of the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiativeembody a shared set of values and describe a new set of rules for an envi-ronmentally sustainable economy and society.

Interdependence. Progress depends on healthy social, economic andnatural systems. These systems are interdependent.

Foresight. The effects that proposed actions may have on the ability offuture generations to meet their own needs must be given primary consid-eration.

Employment. A sustainable society requires meaningful employmentopportunities that offer the ability to provide the necessities of life overthe long term.

Diversity. Biological, economic and social diversity contributes to soci-ety’s stability and long-term sustainability.

Efficiency. Sustainable use of energy and natural resources requires effi-cient resource use, prevention of problems, preferences for using renew-able, recyclable and recycled resources, and market-based incentives thatreduce consumption of resources and generation of wastes.

Ecosystem function. Ecosystems, nature’s life-support systems, pro-vide the natural functions upon which people and economies depend.Their carrying capacity must be considered, preserved and restored.

Indicators. Clear goals and measurable indicators are needed to ensurethat public policies lead to long-term sustainability.

Collaboration. Open involvement of citizen, community, business andenvironmental interests, and governments at all levels is necessary toachieving sustainable development.

Responsibility. All units of government and all corporate and privatecitizens have a responsibility to help sustain a healthy Minnesota environ-ment, economy and community.

Minnesota ranks number two

in the nation for wind power

production. The Department

of Public Service estimates

that the Buffalo Ridge area

could produce an amount of

electricity equivalent to the

state�s current use.

� Minnesota Department of

Public Service

1970 1980 1990 1993

142

120

35

9

Minnesota's Air Quality Days Exceeding National Standards


Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 1994 Biennial Report to the Legislature

Minnesota�s Air QualityDays Exceeding National Standards


Taking the Next Steps TowardSustainable Development

The Initiative suggests Minnesotans begin the transition to sustainabledevelopment by concentrating on six strategic directions: aligning Minne-sota’s economic incentives and goals; understanding what is environmen-tally sustainable; integrating natural resources management; advancingsustainable land use and community development policies; asking govern-ment to take the first steps; and focusing research on sustainable develop-ment issues. The discussion of each strategic direction below is followedby the priority strategies suggested to carry it out. Other possible strate-gies are listed at the end of this chapter.

Strategy 1: Aligning Minnesota�s EconomicIncentives and Goals

Minnesota needs to provide consistent economic rewards for sustainable be-havior and incentives for reducing pollution and waste. Government policiesand programs shape behaviors through loans, grants, subsidies, tax policy andregulations. Cultural and institutional factors, convenience and habit all influ-ence government, business and consumer behaviors. Since business and gov-ernment practices often are a response to consumer demand, Minnesotansneed to understand the influence of these incentives and work to change thosethat impede movement toward a sustainable society.

Remove government barriers to sustainable development. Many of Minnesota’s laws, regulations and administrative policies unin-tentionally encourage activities that the environment may not be able tosustain and discourage more sustainable behavior. The Pathways to Sus-tainable Development project of the EQB and the Legislative Commissionon Minnesota Resources will provide the information necessary to beginshifting government policies to promote sustainable behavior. Pathwayswill study changes to taxes, regulations, and administrative and invest-ment policies that could encourage more sustainable practices. It also willconsider barriers to sustainable energy, manufacturing and settlementpolicies.

Encourage growth of sustainable manufacturing by reducingbusiness taxes, fees and regulations while increasing fees forwaste and pollution. A gradual shift is suggested from taxes and feeson things society would like to encourage, such as jobs and capital invest-ment, to things it would like to discourage, such as waste and pollution.The focus should be on revenue-neutral shifts in taxation that would re-ward progress toward sustainable development. Engaging the businesscommunity in these and other discussions about sustainable developmentwill be essential.

Set state permit fees to represent the costs of environmentaldamage, resource use and depletion. Businesses should pay onlythe environmental costs of their activities. Fee policy also should be de-signed to encourage governments to efficiently administer regulations. Asa step toward fully accounting for environmental costs and to reward re-ductions, regulatory fees should be based on the amount and type of pollu-tion produced.

In 1993, the Minnesota

Pollution Control Agency

issued a new, more flexible

permit to the 3M plant in

St. Paul. The permit

allowed the facility to

decide how to stay below a

cap on hydrocarbon

emissions and placed a far

lower limit on emissions

than the law required.

Emissions were reduced 54

percent, from 10,000 to

less than 4,600 tons

per year.


Control Agency 1994

Biennial Report to the

Legislature

Energy use in Minnesota

has almost doubled since

1960. Without changes

over the next 30 years,

the state will increase its

energy use by another

40 percent.

� Minnesota Department

of Public Service, 1992

Energy Policy and

Conservation Report


Encourage fundamental systems changes to develop environ-mentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptableagriculture. The emphasis should be on long-term considerations anddialogue involving communities, farmers, nonprofit organizations, indus-try, government and educational institutions. Fundamental systemschanges are needed by all involved.

Stratgegy 2: Understanding What IsEnvironmentally Sustainable

A great deal has been learned in the last 20 years about how ecosystemsfunction and respond to human-caused disturbances or pollution, but moreinformation is needed to judge the effects of contaminants and the wisdomof specific natural resource uses.

Design an environmental quality indicators system to rou-tinely track environmental trends. The LCMR-sponsored Minne-sota Environmental Indicators Initiative project will design a comprehen-sive system for environmental monitoring. Existing monitoring effortsaddress isolated problems but do not provide overall measures of ecosys-tem health. The project would create the first statewide framework for un-derstanding and forecasting ecosystem status and trends, assessing theability of ecological systems to provide resource benefits, anticipatingemerging environmental problems and monitoring progress in maintain-ing and restoring ecosystems.

Expand resource monitoring and inventories. The state’s ambientgroundwater monitoring network, redesigned with legislative support in1989, should be fully implemented. The state’s surface water quality net-work, cut substantially from the levels of the 1970s, should be redesignedand then adequately supported to allow it to better track trends in water-shed water quality. The state needs a comprehensive analysis of severalinventories already underway and to determine priorities for funding andtiming.

Strategy 3: Integrating Natural ResourcesManagement

Several federal and state resource investment programs strive for the wiseuse and management of Minnesota’s land and water resources, includingthe Conservation Reserve, Wetlands Reserve, Re-invest in Minnesota,Clean Water Partnership and State Cost-Share programs. Still, water andland resources continue to be degraded and habitat destroyed by pollutedrunoff and infiltration. Minnesota needs a watershed- and ecosystem-based framework within which these programs can be integrated. Theframework should be integrated with local comprehensive planning andbuild on existing energy and natural resource planning efforts.

Integrate air, land and water permitting. An integrated, one-stoppermitting system covering air, land and water would reduce paperworkby allowing businesses to obtain all environmental permits for a specificactivity through a single process. This system could maintain the level ofenvironmental protection while placing fewer burdens on business, par-ticularly small and medium-sized enterprises that have narrower operatingmargins. Beyond Compliance Emissions Reduction Act legislation pro-

�Annual soil erosion

increased from six tons

per acre in 1982 to

seven tons in 1987, a

17 percent jump.�

� Minnesota Planning,

Minnesota Milestones

1993 Progress Report

Fifty-eight percent of

Minnesota�s original

wetlands, 1 percent of its

original prairie and

one-tenth of 1 percent of

its portion of the original

Big Woods, which

stretched from

Northwest Illinois to

Northwest Minnesota,

remain.


of Natural Resources


posed at the federal level by 3M offers a good starting point for discussionof changes. A pilot demonstration project proposed by the Minnesota Pol-lution Control Agency, called Project XL, should provide insights intochanges warranted at the state level.

Create integrated, interdisciplinary long-range ecosystemplans. Ecosystem-based protection, management and restoration activi-ties need to be integrated across agency and government jurisdictions toaddress environmental, economic and community needs. Ecosystem plansshould address long-range natural resources management issues jointlywith economic and social concerns; drawing on resource inventories al-ready underway, such plans would guide state resources protection effortsand local planning for sustainable community development. River basinplanning efforts need to be similarly coordinated. A single ecosystem clas-sification system for statewide natural resources management would aidin this process.

Strategy 4: Advancing Sustainable Land Use andCommunity Development Policies

All Minnesotans need to become informed about sustainable developmentif the changes it requires are to occur. People from across the state and allwalks of life need opportunities to discuss what sustainable developmentmight look like in their community and build consensus about their future.The community is the place where the diverse goals of sustainable devel-opment come together. The challenge is to describe these goals and pro-duce a framework for implementing them throughout the state.

Invite Minnesotans to join in discussions on sustainable de-velopment. How can the ideas and interests of citizens be sought outmore effectively to further the principles of sustainable development?How can citizens be given greater access to and influence on policy-mak-ing in government? These questions should be the focus of efforts de-signed to engage Minnesotans in a dialogue about the state’s future,continuing where Minnesota Milestones left off. Many different vehiclescould be used to involve people in this dialogue, from public meetings andopinion pieces, newsletters and news articles to interest group and local gov-ernment association meetings and Internet discussions.

Create or encourage nonprofit advocacy groups. Nonprofitgroups can stimulate thinking and share ideas about sustainable develop-ment. Minnesota nonprofit organizations could unify sustainable develop-ment efforts in business, neighborhoods, communities and stategovernment.

Develop a sustainable communities pilot program. The state couldseek support for a pilot sustainable communities grant program throughwhich communities could go through a process of discovery much like theInitiative teams did. Communities can help determine what sustainabledevelopment means at the local level and what changes are needed tobring it about.

Develop indicators of sustainable communities. Communitiesneed yardsticks for measuring progress toward sustainable development.Individual communities could use a checklist of indicators to track pro-gress toward a vision. These indicators could be tied to Minnesota Mile-

Perhaps for the first time in

Minnesota, a defunct

shopping mall in St. Paul is

being converted back into a

wetland. The project is part

of a comprehensive

revitalization plan for the

Phalen neighborhood and

watershed.


Natural Resources

Many of Minnesota�s

metropolitan counties will see

explosive growth in the next

25 years. Sherburne County

is projected to grow by

72 percent, Dakota by 67

percent. Other areas will

continue to lose population.

� Minnesota Planning,

Minnesota�s Changing

Counties: The Next 30 Years

1960 1970 1980 1990

2,4512,363

1,8241,956

Population Density of the

Twin Cities Metropolitan Area

Per Square Mile

Source: U.S. CensusSource: U.S. Census

Population Density of theTwin Cities Metropolitan Area

Per Square Mile


stones, the state’s long-range plan, and would help define and communi-cate the components of a sustainable community.

Adopt state goals for sustainable use of land throughout Min-nesota. Communities need to develop and redevelop in ways that en-hance the quality of life, environmental quality and economic security,while ensuring the well-being of future generations. Individuals andhouseholds are often shielded from the consequences of their lifestylechoices. Public policies should protect the environment, reduce urbansprawl, conserve energy and natural resources, promote the use of renew-able fuels and decrease waste. Government and the private sector need towork for developments that foster the sense of community that makes acommunity worth sustaining. Proposed goals are to:

Guide change through planning. Develop community visions for fu-ture development. Use incentive-based strategies, land use controls andinfrastructure investments to clear an easy path for sustainable develop-ment.

Coordinate planning for compatibility. Guide and coordinate landuse planning and community development with a common set of broad,long-term goals and policies that promote sustainable devlopment in Min-nesota. Coordinate plans to ensure compatibility with those of neighbor-ing jurisdictions and with common goals.

Include citizens in planning and decision making. Communities arestorehouses of knowledge and resources. Provide easy, interesting oppor-tunities for citizens to be involved in all phases of the planning process.Planning goals and policies must reflect the will and interests of citizens.

Respect and foster diversity among communities. Land use planningand community development must respect the vastly different needs,strengths and aspirations of Minnesota’s communities and regions and en-courage the preservation of their unique character.

Use integrated information as a foundation for plans and decisions.Base planning and decision making on a comprehensive, up-to-date in-ventory of local and statewide social, environmental and economic attrib-utes and conditions. Communicate information in understandable,creative ways.

Consider the long-term social, economic and environmental costsof development. Base decisions on a comprehensive analysis of the truecosts of different development scenarios and on whether or not they aresustainable over the long term.

Pay as we go. Promote paying the full environmental, social and eco-nomic costs imposed by new development, including such infrastructurecosts as transportation and recreation facilities, schools, sewers and watertreatment. In achieving this goal, show preference for policies that respectdifferences across the state, are equitable and market-based, and enhanceMinnesota’s long-term competitiveness.

Use natural resources and public funds efficiently. Direct growth to-ward areas with existing capacity in infrastructure and services. Encour-age development that uses land efficiently and appropriately for itsecosystem and the character of the surrounding community.

At least 70 percent of all

septic systems in

Minnesota are

inadequately treating

wastewater. This means

that nearly 300,000

septic systems may be

contaminating ground or

surface water.


Control Agency

1994 Biennial Report

to the Legislature

A 1989 survey of 21

Minnesota cities and 18

companies revealed that

groundwater contamination

has cost the cities over $24

million and the companies

over $43 million.

� Freshwater Foundation,

Economic Implications of

Groundwater Contamination

to Companies and Cities


Preserve features of local, regional and statewide significance. Pre-serve valuable farmland, forests, open space and unique natural, historic,cultural, scenic and recreational resources.

Live within our means. Respect the limitations of the natural environ-ment to support development by encouraging development that meetspeople’s needs yet protects environmental quality and minimizes altera-tion of Minnesota’s lands and waters.

Foster livable communities. Encourage safe, pedestrian-friendly de-velopment that integrates a diverse mix of housing and jobs, public transit,businesses, public spaces and recreational areas.

Enhance Minnesota’s economic strength and competitiveness. Fos-ter economic development that builds wealth within communities anduses Minnesota’s natural and economic assets (for example, prime farm-land) on a sustainable basis.

Adopt a planning framework to carry out these goals. Urbansprawl has been relatively unimpeded by traditional zoning and land useas inner cities and small communities in rural Minnesota lose people andjobs, and the costs of new public services begin to outpace development’sbenefits. Minnesotans need to create a framework that ties together all thefactors influencing land use and community development, from reducingsprawl and adverse environmental effects to providing affordable housing,efficient transportation and ample employment opportunities. The frame-work should foster integrated planning and investment by federal, state,regional and local governments, as well as private developers. Shared andstrategic management of land, community resources and infrastructure in-vestment would be important results. A new planning framework mustprovide clear roles for all levels of government to coordinate land use andcommunity development decisions, yet be flexible enough to meet the dif-ferent needs and desires of Minnesota’s diverse communities and regions.This framework would include:

Local Visions for the Future

Citizens would participate in deciding what they want their communityto be like in the future, integrating environmental, social and economicneeds. Consensus would be built on how that vision should be realized.Painting a mental picture of a vibrant, sustainable community is thefirst step toward building one. Extensive, broadly representative citizenparticipation would be built into planning and policy development at alllevels of government.

Factual information would be provided to citizens and policy-makersabout the true costs and benefits of different development scenarios.

Goals, policies and plans would be based on consensus. Consensusmeans that everyone who participates in the decision making processcan live with the decision and will support it.

Common Goals and Policies

A common set of broad, long-term goals and policies would guide stateand local decisions toward the sustainable use of natural and economicresources.

The 1980s witnessed a 45

percent drop in Minnesota�s

farm population � a

decrease of more than

150,000 people.

� U.S. Census

�For agriculture to be sustainable,

farm management and farm policy

will recognize that each farm is

part of a larger natural system and

that every element in this system is

interconnected and interdependent.�


Initiative Agriculture Team

Between 1982 and 1992,

240,000 acres of agricultural

land � 66 acres a day �

were developed.


Agriculture


An advisory committee with representatives from school districts,towns, cities, counties, state agencies, private and nonprofit organizationswould develop more detailed policies to carry out these goals.

State agencies and local governments would base their activities onthese common goals and policies.

Common goals and policies would help ensure that local land use andcommunity development decisions are compatible with neighboringjurisdictions.

Planning Livable Communities

Planning for sustainable community development should occur forcities, townships and counties. The resulting plans would provide thelegal basis for employing land use controls, adopting developmentdecisions and gaining access to some state funds. A state-level bodywould participate in the planning process from the beginning to provideassistance and oversight and to ensure that final county plans arecompatible with the common goals and policies.

Planning by cities, townships and counties would be based on thecommon goals and policies and on up-to-date information collectedcooperatively by local, regional and state agencies. Information used toguide planning would include social, environmental and economictrends and conditions, such as forecasts for population, employmentand resource use.

The Governor and the Legislature would designate a qualified stateagency to formulate sustainable development guidelines for localplanning in collaboration with school districts, towns, cities, counties,state agencies and private and nonprofit organizations.

Counties could choose to follow only those guidelines that wererelevant for their area but would briefly note why each omittedguideline did not apply.

Who Does What

Counties would develop comprehensive sustainable development plansto shape their land use patterns, designating areas for urban and ruraldevelopment, environmental preservation, agricultural uses and soforth. Multiple counties could choose to collaborate to form a singleplan. Neighboring counties would work together to adapt their plans tonatural boundaries and to ensure that their plans are compatible.Counties would be encouraged to work with tribal governments inplanning for all land within the county.

If counties choose not to plan, cities, townships and regionaldevelopment commissions could prepare a county-wide plan. If afterfive years no local unit of government has produced and adopted aplan, the state agency designated to review and approve comprehensiveplans could prepare a plan for the county.

Cities would prepare plans for how they want to evolve that arecompatible with the county plan and with common goals and policies.Townships could prepare similar plans and would serve as keyrepresentatives of the views of rural Minnesota in city, county and stateplanning and decision-making.

Transportation accounts for

40 percent of all energy

consumption in Minnesota.


of Public Service

�Petroleum fuels for cars and

trucks are nonrenewable,

produced outside of

Minnesota and often imported

from areas with substantial

political and military risks.�


Initiative Energy Team

All Rural Total Minnesota Urban Other Urban Arterial

73%69%

47%

24%

Percent of Minnesota Roads RatedGood or Fair for Bicycles 1992

Source: Plan B: The Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation System Plan, 1992Source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

Percent of Minnesota RoadsRated Good or Fair

for Bicycles 1992


City and township plans could include additional or more specificmeasures for managing development and preservation than provided bythe county plan.

The Metropolitan Council would continue to guide planning for theTwin Cities metropolitan area, compatible with the common goals andpolicies.

To ensure that individual local planning efforts protect the interests ofall Minnesotans, the state would:

Designate a state agency to review and approve comprehensiveplans to ensure compatibility with the common goals, policies andguidelines.

Ensure that state agencies develop and carry out their programs andpolicies in agreement with the common goals and policies and withapproved local and county plans.

Facilitate and encourage coordination among local units of govern-ment, working through and with regional entities.

Provide technical assistance to local and regional governmentalunits, such as model ordinances and plans and a model formula forcommunity impact analysis.

Coordinate the formation of a shared body of demographic, social,economic and environmental information with local governments.The different roles and responsibilities of each level of governmentshould be included in this information.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

A local dispute resolution process (including access to facilitation,mediation and binding arbitration) would be developed to help resolveconflicts over planning decisions that arise between cities, townships,counties and state agencies. Identifying and attempting to resolvedifferences as early in the planning process as possible can prevent costlyand protracted legal battles.

State agencies would be required to participate in this process in goodfaith.

Citizens, local governments, and state agencies should use this processto challenge plans and decisions believed to be inconsistent with thecommon goals and policies.

�Sprawl jeopardizes the

natural environment and

agricultural land and creates

inefficient settlement patterns.�


Initiative Settlement Team

Between 1980 and 1993,

daily miles of travel by cars

and other vehicles in

Minnesota grew by nearly

50 percent.


Transportation


Strategy 5: Asking Government to Take the FirstSteps

The state can serve as a model for sustainable development by applyingthe Initiative principles in its own operations. Opportunities range frommanaging state land more sustainably and integrating state environmentaland economic goals to using the state’s purchasing power to encouragesustainable commercial practices.

Establish a Minnesota sustainable development �round table.� The Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative has brought togetherbusiness and environmental interests outside of real crisis to discuss issuesof mutual concern, resulting in new appreciation for concerns of the“other side.” Minnesota should build upon this success. As part of a sus-tainable development round table, Minnesota’s business, environmentaland civic leaders would be asked to help find solutions to the state’s inter-related environmental, economic and community problems. A round tablewould oversee and guide the work begun by the Initiative’s teams andwould advise EQB, the Governor and the Legislature on ways to developand implement this work.

Apply the principles of sustainable development in stateactivities. Asking state and local governments to use the principles ofsustainable development in making decisions would promote the long-term health of Minnesota’s economy, environment and communities.

Account for full costs. Agencies could be asked to account for the fullcosts of important decisions they make affecting the environment and,where appropriate and reasonable, incorporate these costs in applicableprices or fees charged.

Support sustainable manufacturing through state purchasingpolicy. The state can have important influence on commercial markets byincreasingly purchasing products and services that encourage sustainablemanufacturing, business administration and management of naturalresources.

Restructure government to connect social, economic and envi-ronmental policy development. Adding the state’s economic devel-opment commissioner to the EQB would enhance its ability to oversee theMinnesota Sustainable Development Initiative. In addition, an inter-agency working group of the board could identify and pursue opportuni-ties to incorporate sustainable development principles into agencymissions, programs, policies, priorities, purchases and housekeepingmeasures. Reorganization also should be evaluated based upon the con-cept of sustainable development — linking economic and environmentalpolicy — and the collaboration needed with the state’s customers andlocal government partners.

Add sustainable development goals to Minnesota Milestones

and develop strategies for meeting them. As part of the sched-uled review and revision of the state’s long-range plan, the state could in-corporate into Minnesota Milestones the themes and principles ofsustainable development, and devise strategies for achieving the newmilestones.

�Economic and environmental

issues are addressed singly at

all levels of government,

resulting in policies that are

not consistent with achieving

sustainable development.�



�By reducing taxes on activities

that should be encouraged,

like capital investment, and by

using the tax system to

provide incentives for reducing

resource use and pollution,

the tax system could help

Minnesota business improve

efficiency and increase

innovation.�




Strategy 6: Focusing Research on SustainableDevelopment Issues

Progress toward sustainable development will require sound research on anumber of questions, including: assessing the state’s incentives and disin-centives for sustainable development; using market forces to protect theenvironment; substituting taxes on waste and pollution for those on prop-erty or other business taxes; improving sustainable development technolo-gies in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, transportation, information andother areas; developing approaches to designing sustainable communitiesand the measurable indicators of a sustainable community; and under-standing what levels of development are environmentally sustainable.

Collaborate with Minnesota�s universities. The state’s universitiesand other academic institutions could contribute significantly to meetingthe substantial research needs of a sustainable Minnesota.

Establish an institute for sustainable development. With supportof the Northwest Area Foundation, the Global Tomorrow Coalition isworking with interests from the Great Plains states and Canadian prov-inces to explore the creation of a sustainable development think tank.Early discussions indicate interest in siting such an institute in Minnesota.

Twenty-One Other ThingsMinnesotans Could Do for TheirFuture

The following 21 ideas are among the many things Minnesotans could doto help move the state toward sustainable development. The EQB invitescomment on whether or not they should be considered a priority next stepand whether they should be modified or dropped altogether.

Make the postsecondary educational system a leader in changing howpeople think about the solutions to today’s problems by engaging the Uni-versity of Minnesota, the State University System, technical colleges andprivate colleges and institutions in a discussion of curriculum changes thatembrace sustainable development concepts.

Change the curriculums of primary, secondary, professional and voca-tional schools to reflect sustainable development principles.

Formally recognize Minnesotans leading the way in sustainable devel-opment to boost understanding and acceptance of the concept in business,community, environmental protection and educational circles.

Identify steps that could be taken to reduce inter-community competi-tion for economic growth while encouraging efficient, compact develop-ment that makes the best use of existing infrastructure.

Redirect tax increment financing to encourage redevelopment of prop-erty or distressed areas, including investments in pollution prevention, re-duction and cleanup.

Half of the electric energy

used in Minnesota could be

saved by simply replacing

older, inefficient devices with

new, efficient devices that

are on the market today.


Public Service,

Energy: Minnesota�s Options

for the 1990s


Make investments in pollution prevention, reduction and closed-loopmanufacturing eligible for state business financing.

Evaluate the risks and returns of the State Investment Board investingin economically sound, environmentally and socially responsible financialinstruments.

Evaluate the long-term payoff to the environment, economy and com-munity of statewide use of co-generation for district heating.

Require the disclosure of an energy efficiency rating for all dwellingssold in order to encourage energy conservation.

Change requirements in the state building code that are contrary to theprinciples of sustainable development and make the code applicablethroughout the state with a flexibility that is missing.

Apply the visions Minnesotans have for their communities and state inmaking transportation decisions.

Restructure the state’s transportation funding system to promote greaterflexibility in transportation resource allocation and more comprehensivetransportation decision-making.

Tie the environmental review process to community development plansto expedite review while promoting sustainable development.

Provide a fund for state agency and local government environmentalaudits.

Give state agencies the discretion to spend funds targeted for specificprograms on integrated resource management projects.

Coordinate state-financed capital investments through an integrated,sustainable development capital improvement plan based on whether ornot they contribute to a more sustainable society.

Establish a statewide accounting system to track the use of renewableand nonrenewable resources and the degradation of these resources tomeasure and preserve Minnesota’s “natural capital” over time.

Design information systems to integrate social, economic and environ-mental information in a manner that supports sustainable communities’planning and decision-making.

Examine the possible relationship between environmental contamina-tion in a particular area and the race, ethnicity or income level of the peo-ple who live there.

Make the Legislative Auditor responsible for conducting policy auditsbased upon sustainable development principles.

Work through such forums as the Council of Great Lakes Governors todevelop regional sustainable development strategies, including “green”product design, voluntary “take back” schemes (where a company agreesto take back its products once the consumer is finished with them) and re-source-efficient manufacturing.

In 1995, U.S. EPA recognized

Honeywell for reducing its

electricity consumption by

16.6 million kilowatt hours

since 1991 � equivalent to

3,246 tons of coal � largely

by upgrading lighting.

� U.S. EPA, Green Lights

Update, May 1995


challenges for a sustainable minnesota · martin kellogg, co-chairs; abby mckenzie and scott...

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