Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
The high level of nitrate in its drinking water is forcing Utica, a small town in Winona County, to drill a much deeper new well. It's a $2 million project, most of which will be paid for by the federal government. The nitrate problem in southeast Minnesota has gotten so bad, environmental groups say, that they are formally requesting emergency action by the U.S. EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Brian Peterson ¥ brian.peterson@startribune.com
A group of environmental organizations say nitrate pollution in drinking water has reached crisis proportions in southeast Minnesota, and it's time for the feds to step in.
They are taking the unprecedented step in Minnesota of formally requesting the Environmental Protection Agency to take emergency action under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. State and local regulators have failed to lower dangerous nitrate levels in groundwater with voluntary measures that aim to curb pollution from farms, they say.
Southeast Minnesota's groundwater is particularly vulnerable to nitrate pollution because of the many sinkholes and fractures in the porous limestone underlying the region.
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