Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund bill nearing final committee approval

Playing the lottery may not be healthy for your bank account.

But at least your losses can help improve the health of the environment.

That’s because money in the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund is generated by the Minnesota State Lottery.

Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL-Mpls) sponsors HF3426, which would allocate $103.3 million in Fiscal Year 2027 from the trust fund for 109 environmental projects ranging from implementing a large-scale moose habitat management plan to studying whether an enhanced plasma reactor can remove PFAS “forever chemicals” from wastewater.

The money would go to state agencies and departments, including the University of Minnesota, plus community groups engaged in environmental or natural resource protection and management.

Projects and the amounts come from the annual recommendations of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.

[MORE: View the recommendations]

The trust fund was established following voter approval of a constitutional amendment in 1988, and it has provided approximately $1.1 billion to more than 1,700 projects around the state since 1991, according to the LCCMR.

Testimony was taken by the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee March 10, and it held the bill over Tuesday to have time to incorporate suggestions from the Office of the Legislative Auditor regarding the community grants section, including financial guardrails. Final committee approval is expected next week.

An adopted amendment relating to the community grants section would require recipients to submit proof of a surety bond before funds are distributed, something Jordan calls “a good accountability measure.”

Where does the money go?

Environmental education and outdoor recreation projects would get the largest share, $37.8 million, per the recommendations. Much of that money would go to programs managed by the Department of Natural Resources. Other recipients include the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, and Urban Boatbuilders.

Other recommended appropriations are:

• $18.8 million for fish and wildlife projects;
• $17.9 million for land restoration and other land-related projects;
• $17 million for water-related projects;
• $10.6 million for projects building environmental and natural resource resiliency; and
• $773,000 for energy projects.