A $0.40 per ton tax on fertilizer has passed the Minnesota House Agriculture Committee, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. If enacted the money would go to clean up nitrate pollution and provide water to some 9,000 residents of eight southeastern Minnesota counties – Dodge, Goodhue, Fillmore, Mower, Olmstead, Wabasha, Houston, and Winona.
In November, the US EPA ordered the state to act to address the pollution found in private wells in those counties. The money would redirect an existing $0.40 tax on fertilizer that currently goes to fund a state research program to help increase crop yields. The current tax raises about $1.2 million per year and is set to expire in 2025.
“This is a disingenuous attempt to hijack the fund and use it somewhere else,” said State Rep. Steven Jacob (R-Altura), cited by the newspaper. However, supporters of the bill say that those who use the product that sometimes causes the pollution should pay some of the cost of cleanup.
Regardless whether the tax passes, the House and Senate plan to spend $2-$3 million over the next year to start testing wells and provide those impacted with either bottled water or filtering systems, according to the newspaper. However, state agencies estimate the cost could be as much as $7 million, depending on the amount of contamination.