The years long battle to protect wild rice or “Mahnomen” in the state of Minnesota secured a significant boost this week from the federal government. The Environmental Protection agency (EPA) announced that erroneous laws which attempted to restrict the MPCA from including effluent limits on sulfate levels hindered the MPCA from properly issuing permits under the Clean Water Act. NPDES permits from the MPCA must now consider these impacts on waters that contain wild rice stands. This is an important victory in the herculean effort to protect Minnesota’s wild rice and water quality.

This issue has arisen out of the controversies surrounding the Minnesota mining industry which has been skirting regulations that are in place and attempting to undermine bedrock environmental protections that have been a cornerstone of Minnesota’s permitting process since the early 70s.

What’s the deal with wild rice?

Wild rice is an important staple for indigenous nations and their culture throughout the state. Indigenous groups have been harvesting this crop for thousands of years as the semi aquatic grain grows in abundance along the shallow banks of lakes and rivers. Known as the food that grows on water, wild rice provides food and industry for tribal and nontribal Minnesotan’s willing to put in the work to harvest or farm its verdant resource. Actually, a grass and not a species of rice, wild rice grows in the United States and Canada with a historic stronghold in Minnesota. Its seeds are used in a variety of Minnesota delicacies like wild rice soups, pancakes, salads, and other foods that people in Minnesota and beyond can enjoy. Minnesotans love wild rice so much that it was made the official state grain in 1977. But this intrinsic resource has been under a relentless siege.

Though popular and abundant, wild rice has faced a number of challenges in the past few years. The impacts of climate change, invasive species, and heavy metals pollution from industrial mining projects over the past century have left wild rice beds shadows of their historic record. Stands of wild rice are particularly vulnerable to excessive levels of sulfate compounds leaching into the sediments where its seeds germinate and grow. Minnesota’s Sulfate Standard which was adopted in 1973 to regulate sulfate discharges from industrial projects limits sulfate to 10 MG/L. That standard has been under fire for over a decade by mining lobbyists and even the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

Several legislative attempts to rollback, limit, and outright eliminate water quality standards regarding sulfates have been attempted since 2010. The main goal of these aggressive actions by industries responsible for the discharge of excess sulfates into surrounding aquifers was to recklessly kick open the door for foreign copper nickel sulfide mining conglomerates with globally recognized environmental and labor rights abuses. Essentially, agencies like the DNR and MPCA were complicit in and actively promoted a broken regulatory process. These agencies were also covering up the abuses of the taconite industry which had been operating virtually without Minnesota DNR and MPCA oversight and with indignant impunity towards the very ecosystems and downstream communities they had been harming for decades.

It may have taken seven years of litigation and activism but the EPA has essentially told the MPCA to do its respective duty and to follow the law. With this most recent ruling by the EPA, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency must return to the regulatory table to properly be the stewards of wild rice in Minnesota. The victory in this case cannot be understated. Protecting one of Minnesota’s iconic treasures and natural wonders for so many is critical for a sustainable future. The MPCA must enforce the Minnesota Sulfate Standard to preserve wild rice for future generations to enjoy.