Dear Governor Walz,

We write out of concern over a disturbing trend in the executive branch of our government. Policy decisions are being made regarding the environment which are antithetical to important goals of the DFL Environmental Caucus. These concerns are reflected in a letter dated December 11, 2023, to the governor’s office, from contact person Don Arnosti, signed by several dozen individuals and representing as many organizations, concerning “Community Members’ Request for Regulatory Accountability”. (Enclosed)

All Minnesotans deserve, need and want clean air, clean water, access to a protected natural landscape, biodiversity and wildlife conservation, and a livable planet. As a caucus, we advance these goals within the DFL party and more broadly. We take the concerns expressed in the letter seriously, and frankly, expect more from you and our state agencies.

The DFL Environmental Caucus has fought attempts to weaken environmental policy and supported decisions that fund and empower our agencies to safeguard health, to conserve and protect shared resources, and to honor tribal rights to hunt, fish and gather. The DFL’s action agenda and DFL Party Platform call for addressing many of these issues. We call on you to refocus your priorities on the health and safety of your citizens over the desires of multinational corporations. We call on you to direct state agencies to enforce regulations that already exist and to strengthen those that are weak. We call on you to increase accountability and transparency in all state agencies. The DFL Environmental Caucus will continue to hold educational forums, endorse and help elect environmental champions, and advocate for action on climate and other environmental issues to protect what humans need and love!

As a start, we would like to request an early February meeting with you to review our concerns and discuss policy and regulatory changes to correct these issues. Please contact Megan Bond at 562.826.6254 or mdbond82@gmail.com to set up the meeting.

Under your leadership, our 2023 legislature passed landmark legislation on climate, lead removal, environmental justice, and more. We are grateful for the progress our state has made. But we have much more work to do and are counting on you, Governor Walz, to lead the way.

Sincerely,

Bond, Chair and members of the DFL Environmental Caucus executive committee