From Line 3 to ‘carbon-free’: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s record on environment and climate

As Minnesota governor, Tim Walz passed ambitious climate policy that was sharply contested by Republicans. He also clashed with environmental advocates on the left flank of his party for approving an oil pipeline and defending a copper mine supported by trade unions and northern Minnesota lawmakers.

It’s a record that tracks with Walz’s philosophy of governance, in which he boasts a series of progressive achievements but diverges from environmentalists on issues like farmland water pollution, biofuels and mining.

“It isn’t about stopping the projects but it’s making certain that economic growth can go hand in hand with climate protections and advancing climate strategy,” said Laura Bishop, who was commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for three years in Walz’s first term. “It’s not an either-or in his mind.”

Bishop said Walz was a “staunch supporter on climate” who listened to all sides on issues but followed state law when permitting controversial projects rather than trying to put a thumb on the scale for a predetermined outcome. Environmental groups have often halted those permits in the courts, however.

Many of Walz’s climate plans were stymied when Republicans controlled the state Senate during his first four years as governor. That flipped when the DFL won full control of the Legislature in 2022.

“When Walz is able to rally legislative support and have clear legislative support behind him, he’s a good leader on environmental issues,” said Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

With Vice President Kamala Harris choosing Walz as her running mate, their Republican opponents are painting his record, including on environment, as California-style liberalism. Here’s how Walz stood in some major environment and climate debates:

Walz’s signature climate policy is a law passed last year that requires a carbon-free electric grid by 2040, one of the nation’s most ambitious goals for moving beyond fossil fuel-generated power.

Republican lawmakers argue the law will lead to an unreliable electric system with rolling blackouts and rising bills. Most electric utilities, including Xcel Energy, either supported the 2040 law or were neutral after winning concessions. There are exceptions in the law meant to prevent unreasonably high bills or threats of blackouts.

Also in 2023, Walz approved a historically large amount of state spending on energy. The legislation included rebates on climate-friendly technology like air-source heat pumps and electric vehicles, as well as spending to improve home insulation and $100 million to help cities prepare for more extreme weather.

This year, Walz signed a bill to cut red tape for wind and solar farms, as well as transmission lines, to speed up permitting for infrastructure needed to replace gas and coal plants.

Walz and state regulators in 2020 approved Enbridge Energy’s controversial Line 3 oil pipeline.

The project resulted in thousands of construction jobs and replaced an old corroding pipeline considered a spill risk. But it also sparked fierce local and national protest from environmental groups and some tribes because it represented a huge new commitment to fossil fuels. When the pipeline was constructed, workers punctured multiple sensitive water aquifers.

With Line 3, Walz was forced to take sides between competing factions in his own constituency. Major trade unions supported the project along with many Democratic lawmakers from northern Minnesota. But the project was unpopular among the environmental left and Native American activists, some of whom would frequently interrupt Walz’s public appearances.

Walz’s main effort to promote electric vehicles was adopting California’s vehicle emission standards, which require automakers to deliver more EVs for sale in the state. Minnesota is the only Midwestern state to do so.

The governor said the regulations would cut pollution and give consumers more choice. Republicans and auto dealers fought the plan at the Legislature and in courts, saying it pressured people to buy cars they don’t want in a cold-weather state. Bishop resigned from the MPCA before the Republican-led Senate could remove her from the job, in large part over the pollution rules.

The “Clean Cars” standard will last only one year before Minnesota will have to decide whether to revert to federal rules or adopt a newer and even more stringent California policy to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Walz and fellow DFLers have not signaled interest in the stricter California regulations.

Walz was again faced with balancing the concerns of labor and conservationists as his administration defended permits the state issued to a proposed copper-nickel mine. Originally launched by the company PolyMet, the massive open-pit NorthMet mine got its first permits during the term of Walz’s predecessor, Gov. Mark Dayton.

While Minnesota has long mined iron ore, copper-nickel mining has been more controversial for its potential to release acid mine drainage. Walz said early in his tenure that “I think we can do things right” by closely vetting the proposals by mining companies, and spoke in favor of extracting metals to fuel clean energy projects. His agencies have continued to defend permits issued to NorthMet, even as several of them have been struck down in court and legal bills have swelled into the millions.

In public comments, Walz has been more skeptical about Twin Metals, another hardrock mine in the watershed of the federally-protected Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Currently blocked by the Biden Administration, opening the land to mining once again is included in the conservative Project 2025 policy proposal, and Donald Trump spoke in favor of allowing more Minnesota mining in a recent rally in St. Cloud.

Like many other corn belt states, Minnesota has struggled with water pollution from industrial agriculture, which leaks row crop fertilizer and manure runoff into drinking water wells. Walz’s environmental regulators have come under criticism for failing to do more to control it.

Last year, the EPA directed the state to protect thousands of people in southeastern Minnesota who were drinking tainted water.

About 30% of the corn grown in Minnesota is used for ethanol, and electric cars are seen as a threat to the demand for ethanol and biodiesel. Walz has championed some efforts to support the biofuel industry, including convening a council on the issue at the beginning of his first term.

Last year, he lobbied for the Legislature to pass $11.6 million in tax credits for alternative aviation fuel made of plant sources like corn and soybeans. The governor hopes to create a local hub for this fuel, in part to help Delta Airlines and in part to serve as a lifeline for the biofuels industry.

Recently, a collection of environmental groups have argued Walz’s administration is too beholden to the industries it regulates, naming several instances of what they called failed oversight of polluting businesses.

Walz signed a handful of laws in the last year that could transform how Minnesota manages industrial pollution. One effort gave stronger enforcement capabilities to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and another tightened pollution protections for communities with a history of pollution and economic or racial marginalization.

The farthest-reaching proposal may be the state’s sweeping efforts to curb PFAS, a category of industrial chemicals that are ubiquitous in consumer goods, don’t break down, and are widespread in the environment. Some of the chemicals are linked with serious health problems, including some cancers. Minnesota’s ban on PFAS, which is commonly used in cosmetics, nonstick pans, clothing and other products, will roll out over the next eight years and is the strictest anywhere in the country.