Conservation groups accuse Minnesota legislators of draining environmental fund

Eight conservation and environmental groups plan to sue the state for tapping an environmental fund to finance a $98 million package of infrastructure projects in a way that they say violates the Minnesota Constitution and betrays voters’ trust.

The Environmental and Natural Resource Trust Fund, which receives about $60 million a year in proceeds from the Minnesota lottery, was approved by voters in three constitutional amendments over the past three decades. It is dedicated to “protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.”

http://www.startribune.com/conservation-groups-sue-state-over-use-of-environmental-fund/495082131/