For generations, highway construction in Minnesota has unfairly burdened certain communities, particularly low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, with excessive pollution and health risks. When highways like I-94, I-35, and Olson Memorial (MN 55) were built, they cut through neighborhoods like Near North, Rondo, Cedar-Riverside, and Old Southside, creating what are essentially “sacrifice zones” where residents face higher rates of asthma, dementia, cancer, and other serious health problems.
What are Cumulative Impacts?
In 2023, Minnesota took an essential first step to address environmental injustice by passing a “cumulative impacts” law that protects vulnerable communities from polluting facilities like factories and incinerators. Cumulative impacts are the combined effects of current and past pollution and other stressors on the health, well-being, and quality of life of residents in those communities. While the 2023 law was a major step, it left out one of the largest sources of pollution Minnesota communities face: highways.
Our Streets is working alongside community partners to fix this gap with a new policy that requires the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to study and mitigate the total impact of highway projects on nearby communities before moving forward with construction. If a project would cause too much harm to an already overburdened neighborhood, MnDOT would need to either change its plans to reduce the negative effects or negotiate a community benefit agreement that ensures the community is protected from impacts and receives meaningful benefits from the project.
At a time when health and human services funding is facing deep cuts and federal clawbacks, addressing a root cause of community health inequities from transportation is more important than ever.
By considering these environmental and health impacts from the start, projects will proceed more smoothly without local opposition, municipal consent fights, lawsuits, or other forms of local pushback. This will save taxpayer money, prevent costly project modifications, and create stability for people building transportation projects.
Additionally, similarly to Colorado’s cumulative impacts law, this bill creates an Environmental Justice Ombudsperson within MnDOT to serve as a liaison and accountability watchdog within the agency.
This policy ensures that the burden of highway pollution doesn’t continue to fall on environmental justice communities, which are often communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal communities, while incentivizing more responsible transportation investments.
This law is about creating a fairer, healthier Minnesota where your zip code doesn’t determine your lifespan.
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