Subject: An e-mail being sen to a group of St. Paul DFL people
Please consider offering this resolution at your upcoming DFL
caucus:
Whereas:
Energy conservation could reduce anticipated future demand for
electricity, and other
sources of power are available besides Manitoba Hydro;
Purchase of Manitoba Hydro’s power links the state firmly to the
continuing destruction of
the culture and economic base of the Cree; and
Dependence upon Manitoba's hydropower removes incentives to develop
truly renewable
energy sources, such as wind and solar, in Minnesota; and
Manitoba hydropower is a false "renewable", involving release of
greenhouse gasses
comparable to burning fossil fuels, and environmental destruction on a
vast scale; and
Dollars sent north do not create jobs in the utility industry here,
nor in a restructured
industry; and
The destruction of boreal forest and uplands has undocumented
consequences for
Minnesota's migratory species; and
The destruction of North American habitat, fish and wildlife that
occurs when large
quantities of water, laden with methyl mercury and silt, are released
into frozen waterways
and Hudson Bay cannot be in our best interest (caribou, beluga, polar
bears, and seals are
among the animals at risk); and
Part of Minnesota is in the Nelson River watershed, and may suffer
direct adverse effects
due to damages to the ecosystem of the watershed.
Therefore be it resolved that:
The District 64A DFL commends Senator Ellen Anderson and
Representative Carlos
Mariani for introducing the Hydro Review Bill (Senate File 2453 and
House File 3499),
which requires that out-of-state hydroelectric facilities meet the same
environmental
reporting requirements as in-state facilities; and
The District 64A DFL commends Senator Jane Krenz, Senator John Marty,
Representative Alice Hausman, Representative Phyllis Kahn, and
Representative Karen
Clark for sponsoring the Hydro Review Bill; and
The District 64A DFL encourages our own legislators to support the
Hydro Review Bill;
and
The District 64A DFL encourages all District 64 DFLers to voice their
support of this bill to
legislators named above, and to our own state legislators; and
The District 64A DFL will send a letter to the Minnesota Public
Utilities Commission
expressing our desire that NSP not be allowed to buy electricity from
Manitoba Hydro; and
The District 64A DFL encourages all District 64 DFLers to contact the
Public Utilities
Commission expressing their desire that NSP not be allowed to buy
electricity from
Manitoba Hydro; and
The District 64A DFL encourages all District 64 DFLers to spread this
message further, by
way of their own connections to faith communities and social justice,
environmental,
minority, tribal government, and neighborhood organizations.
Background Information
NSP currently buys about 5% of the power it supplies to its customers from
Manitoba Hydro.
Manitoba Hydro generates this power by dams that flood vast areas of
boreal forest and
wetlands in northern Manitoba along rivers that drain into Hudson Bay.
The land is the
traditional home of the Cree who live primarily by hunting and fishing.
The water level
fluctuates rapidly, depending on the demand for power. Game and fish
populations have
declined dramatically, destroying the livelihood of the Cree. Several
people have died when
they have been caught by rapidly changing water levels. Vegetative
material in flooded areas
decays, releasing carbon dioxide in a quantity comparable to that caused
by burning fossil fuels
for power generation. Methyl mercury is also released into the water,
making the fish
downstream unsafe for consumption by humans or animals. The dams are a
social, economic
and environmental disaster.
Similar hydroelectric projects have been executed and planned by Hydro
Quebec and
Manitoba Hydro since the early 1970s. In both Quebec and Manitoba, native
rights have been
ignored, residents have learned of projects only when construction was
already underway, and
lawsuits have resulted in offers of monetary compensation for the
destruction of the land and
livelihood of the Cree and Inuit. The Pimicikamak Cree Nation of Manitoba
has refused the
proffered payments and has sent representatives to Minnesota to ask for
our help in resisting
Manitoba Hydro’s marketing more electricity to NSP. Vocal public
opposition to Hydro
Quebec in New York significantly cut into Hydro Quebec’s sales of power to
the U.S. With
your help, Minnesota can do the same with Manitoba Hydro.
NSP is currently seeking permission from the Public Utilities Commission
to purchase additional
power in coming years from Manitoba Hydro. Electricity from Manitoba Hydro
is priced very
cheaply, which makes it attractive to NSP. NSP is Manitoba Hydro’s largest
customer outside
Canada. Manitoba Hydro intends to build additional dams to supply this
demand. Manitoba
Hydro does not have to file environmental impact statements for its
projects, as Minnesota
power producers do.
Contact Information:
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
121 7th Place East, Suite 350
St Paul, MN 55101-2147
651-296-0621
Commissioner Edward Garvey Commissioner R. Marshall Johnson
Commissioner LeRoy Koppendrayer Commissioner Gregory Scott, Chairman
Executive Secretary Burl Haar
In your correspondence, reference Docket Number E-002/M-99-888.
Questions may be referred to MN Public Utilities Commission staff members
Bret Eknes at 651-296-8667 or Susan Mackenzie at 651-296-8994
..
Legislators:
Senator Ellen Anderson: 651-296-5537;
sen.ellen.anderson@senate.leg.state.mn.us
Senator Jane Krentz: 651-296-7061; sen.jane.krentz@senate.leg.state.mn.us
Senator John Marty: 651-296-5645; sen.john.marty@senate.leg.state.mn.us
Rep. Carlos Mariani rep.carlos.mariani@house.leg.state.mn.us
Rep. Alice Hausman: 651-296-
3824 rep.alice.hauseman@house.leg.state.mn.us
Rep. Phyllis Kahn: 651-296- 4257
rep.phyllis.khan.@house.leg.state.mn.us
Rep. Karen Clark:651-296- 0294 rep.karen.clark@house.leg.state.mn.us
For a copy of the bill see Sustainable Minnesota's Legislative Watch at
http://www.me3.org/leg/legwatch00.html
For information on ways we could conserve energy and generate renewable
energy, see:
Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy at http://www.me3.org/
For grassroots organizing about this issue, see:
https://stcloudstate.tripod.com/plugin/
For some background on Hydro Quebec, see
http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/JAMES.htm
For more information:
Ann Stewart, (Information Officer, Pimicikamak Cree Nation)
stewartship@visi.com
121 West Grant Street/Suite 116
Minneapolis MN 55403-2340 USA
voice 612.871.8404 fax 612.871.7922
This document was prepared by:
Janet Anderson 1514 Laurel Ave. St. Paul, MN 55104 651-642-1371
nosredna725@hotmail.com
Please forward this message to anyone you know who might be interested in
helping. Thanks.