Committee hears bill to fund well treatment, repairs for nitrate-impacted households in Southeast Minnesota

Representative Jacobs told the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee that House File 821 would continue and expand funding to supply safe drinking water to households in Southeast Minnesota whose private wells exceed safe nitrate levels.

Jay Idesnes, senior staff attorney at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, testified that roughly three quarters of Minnesotans depend on groundwater and that private-well owners are responsible for testing and treating their water; he urged continued state investment for low-income and vulnerable households. Idesnes said the bill would prioritize households below 300% of the federal poverty guideline and households with “vulnerable people.”

Margaret Wagner, manager of the fertilizer nonpoint section at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, described program implementation to date: the department established a joint powers agreement with Olmsted County, contracted installation of reverse‑osmosis systems and reported that “150 reverse osmosis systems have been installed” so far. Wagner said the appropriation in the 2024 supplemental budget was $2,800,000 and that House File 821 would appropriate “just over 3,800,000.0 per year” to continue the program and expand eligibility for well repairs and replacements in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Health.

Ivana Stark, state director of Clean Water Action Minnesota, supported the bill and noted health risks associated with nitrate exposure for infants and pregnant individuals. Committee discussion included questions about program prioritization, how local partners verify incomes for prioritization, remaining balances from the 2024 appropriation, and whether the department had the capacity to scale services. The committee laid the bill over for further consideration and did not take a vote on an appropriation during this hearing.