NEW ULM -- The state's ethanol industry and its hunger for more corn represents a challenge for those seeking to clean up the Minnesota River.
Participants at the Minnesota River Summit on Wednesday and Thursday in New Ulm cited the ethanol industry as among the top challenges they see.
More than 200 people joined to identify their main concerns and issues.
Most were outspoken in their support for biofuels, but many voiced concern about today's corn-based ethanol industry. They don't want to see corn planted on marginal and conservation lands.
They also voiced worries about the ethanol industry's growing use of water resources.
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Yet overall, participants rated concerns about the river's hydrology as their top issue, according to a compilation of the comments made by Larry Gunderson of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Participants want to find ways to reduce the nutrients carried by farm tiles to the river, as well as to reduce the "flash,'' or rapid rise and drop, of water levels caused by drainage.
The concerns about the hydrology also focus on the effects of urban sprawl. The expansion of impervious surface area and storm sewer systems is harming the river, participants noted.
Residential encroachment on the river bluffs and other issues related to a growing urban population also were cited as major issues to address.
There were also many comments made about the growing "disconnect'' between what people say they want, and what they do. Polls show overwhelming support for cleaning up the river. That does not always translate into changed behaviors or a willingness to pay for cleanup efforts, participants noted.
"We need leaders,'' said one participant as part of a call for public policy initiatives.
Perhaps the most frequently cited issue was a desire to shape the new farm bill to support efforts by farmers to adopt best management practices.
Dick Kroeger of rural Hanley Falls noted that the vast majority of land in the basin is devoted to agriculture, and consequently that is where much of the effort must be made.
Others cautioned against relying too much on a farm bill. It might not be crafted as they want it.
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"Politics are not a good bet,'' said Dallas Ross of the Upper Sioux Community. He said the real hope for cleaning up the river "lies within us.''
