Cucking Stool: Water, water everywhere…and plenty left to sell, apparently.
Monday, February 27, 2012 Posted by aaronklemz
Quietly, two separate bills that would weaken conservation of Minnesota drinking water are percolating at the Capitol. One would permit the Minnesota Legislature to approve the sale of water across state lines, the other would repeal a 2008 requirement that cities adopt conservation pricing for water use.
Introduced last week, SF 2004/ HF 2434 would allow the Legislature to approve the sale of Minnesota water across state lines. All three of the sponsors (Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, Rep. Bud Nornes and Rep. Mark Murdock) represent the same territory in northwestern Minnesota. Of course, just days before this bill was introduced, Hoffman announced that she would challenge US Rep. Collin Peterson instead of running for re-election to her state Senate seat.
There are many curious things about this bill.
It would strike a provision that discourages diversion of water from Minnesota to another state or Canada, and allow the sale of water across state lines. This would be a first step toward privatizing Minnesota’s water resources.