520 Lafayette Road North, Saint Paul, MN 55155| www.eqb.state.mn.us Phone: 651-757-2873 | Fax: 651-757-2343 February 17, 2021 Meeting Location: Virtual via WebEx https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/onstage/g.php?MTID=ea9e0199cef84ed743391b742b205540d 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm AGENDA Meeting Time and Location In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Environmental Quality Board (EQB or Board) will convene its February Board meeting virtually through the WebEx platform. To access the meeting, use the link under the “Meeting Location” above. Instructions for joining the meeting via WebEx are included on page 5 of this packet. Accessibility: This material can be provided in different forms, like large print, braille, or on a recording. Please contact EQB staff at least one week prior to the event at [email protected] to arrange an accommodation. Public Engagement Opportunities at EQB Meetings EQB encourages public input and appreciates the opportunity to build shared understanding with members of the public. During the February Board meeting, members of the public will have the opportunity to contribute questions, comments, and ideas via the online platform Slido. Slido login details are provided below. Meeting Objectives • Elect an EQB Vice Chairperson • Discuss findings from Jill Lindsey Harrison’s book From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies • Review updates to the Environmental Quality Board work plan EQB packet page - 2 Agenda: I. *Adoption of Consent Agenda & Minutes Proposed Agenda for February 17th, 2021 Board Meeting November 18, 2020 Meeting Minutes II. EQB Welcome & Introductions Laura Bishop EQB Chair Commissioner – Minnesota Pollution Control Agency EQB Members Margaret Anderson Kelliher; Commissioner – Department of Transportation Grace Arnold; Commissioner – Department of Commerce Kristen Eide-Tollefson; Public Member – Congressional District 2 Alan Forsberg; Public Member – Congressional District 1 Julie Goehring; Public Member – Congressional District 7 Steve Grove; Commissioner – Department of Employment and Economic Development Mehmet Konar-Steenberg; Public Member – Congressional District 5 Jan Malcolm; Commissioner – Department of Health Nicholas Martin; Public Member – Congressional District 4 Bryan Murdock; Commissioner – Congressional District 8 Thom Petersen; Commissioner – Department of Agriculture Alice Roberts-Davis; Commissioner – Department of Administration Sarah Strommen; Commissioner – Department of Natural Resources Gerald Van Amburg; Chair – Board of Water and Soil Resources Benjamin Yawakie; Public Member – Congressional District 3 III. Executive Director’s Report Katie Pratt Executive Director Environmental Quality Board [email protected] IV. **Elect EQB Vice Chair The EQB has authority to elect a Vice Chairperson. The Vice Chairperson is responsible for chairing board meetings in the absence of the Chairperson. * Items requiring discussion may be removed from the Consent Agenda ** Denotes action may be taken EQB packet page - 3 V. From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies Jill Lindsey Harrison, author of From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies, will present to the EQB on findings from the book. Book Overview In From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies (MIT Press, 2019), Harrison examines the disappointing pace of environmental regulatory agencies’ “environmental justice” (EJ) programs and policies as a case through which to understand why, despite reducing air and water pollution for the nation overall, government has not protected the communities who suffer the most. Other scholars have shown that budget cuts, industry pressure, and other factors outside the control of agency staff constrain the possibilities for EJ reforms to regulatory practice. This book shows that agencies’ EJ efforts are also undermined by elements of regulatory workplace culture. Through extensive interviews with and observations of staff at numerous environmental regulatory agencies across the United States, Harrison shows that agencies’ EJ efforts are also undermined by everyday ways in which well-meaning staff dedicated to environmental regulation reject EJ reforms as violating what they think their organization does and should do. A rare glimpse inside environmental regulatory agencies, these findings help explain the shortcomings of environmental regulation and policy implementation today. It also shows how agencies’ EJ staff – those tasked with developing EJ reforms – endeavor to change both regulatory practice and regulatory culture from the inside out. (Link to the publisher: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/inside-out) About the Author Jill Lindsey Harrison (PhD, University of California at Santa Cruz, 2006) is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on environmental sociology, sociology of agriculture and food systems, environmental justice, and political theories of justice, with a regional emphasis on the United States. She has used her research on political conflict over agricultural pesticide poisonings in California, recent escalations in immigration enforcement in rural Wisconsin, and government agencies’ environmental justice efforts to help identify and explain the persistence of environmental inequalities and workplace inequalities in the United States today. In addition to numerous articles and chapters, she published Pesticide Drift and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice (MIT Press, 2011), which won book awards from the Rural Sociological Society and the Association of Humanist Sociology, and From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies (MIT Press, 2019), which received Honorable Mention for the 2020 Allan Schnaiberg Outstanding Publication Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Environmental Sociology. Presenters: Jill Lindsey Harrison Associate Professor, Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies University of Colorado-Boulder [email protected] EQB packet page - 4 Materials enclosed: • Flyer - From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies – EQB packet page number 12 • Sections - From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies – EQB packet page number 14 VI. Question & Answer Session for Jill Lindsey Harrison Board members and members of the public will have an opportunity to ask question of the author. Members of the public will be prompted to ask questions through the online platform Slido. To access the platform, please visit Slido [https://www.sli.do] and enter the event code “EQBFEB21.” VII. EQB Work Plan EQB Executive Director Katie Pratt will discuss strategic objectives, actions, and key projects that EQB staff will focus on for the upcoming year and seek feedback from the Board. Members of the public are invited to offer ideas and feedback via the online platform Slido. To access the platform, please visit Slido [https://www.sli.do] and enter the event code “EQBFEB21.” Presenters: Katie Pratt Executive Director Environmental Quality Board [email protected] Materials enclosed: • FY20-21 work plan update – EQB packet page number 111 VIII. Closing Remarks IX. Adjourn EQB packet page - 5 EQB Guide to Participating in WebEx Meetings If you have any questions or technical difficulties regarding the Board meeting or WebEx, please contact EQB staff at (651) 757-2873. Contents • Connecting to WebEx • Submitting Written Comment (Written Comments will be included in the subsequent Board Packet) • Troubleshooting your connection Connecting to WebEx Step 1: Join WebEx through the provided link found on our website or public meeting notification through GovDelivery. Step 2: Input your name and email address, then select join. EQB packet page - 6 Step 3: This will prompt you to register for the meeting by confirming your email address, after confirming, select “Submit” Step 4: If you have not already used WebEx before, follow the prompts to download the plug-in for your web browser. This typically does not take long, but be sure to budget time in advanced to connect to the meeting. EQB packet page - 7 Step 5: Configure your Audio and Video Connection, if you wish to use your computer’s microphone and camera, select “Call Using Computer.” If you prefer to connect by phone you can either call in or have the WebEx system call a number that you provide. Note: you will be muted upon entry to the conference call. If you are joining audio by phone, you will only be able to unmute through your computer. If you wish to submit written public comment Note: Written comments will not be visible to the Board in real time. They will be included in the subsequent Board packet. Step 1: Open the chat clicking the chat bubble icon. Step 2: Then in the chat box, select “Environmental Quality Board (Host)” to submit your written public comment. EQB packet page - 8 Troubleshooting your Connection If you have any questions or technical difficulties regarding the Board meeting or WebEx, please contact EQB staff at (651) 757-2873. Having trouble with hearing or speaking? Try joining by phone. Step 1: Open Step 2: Select the options by “Audio Connection” selecting the in the menu. three dots icon. Step 3: Select “Switch Connection.” Step 4: Press “I will call in” to get unique call in information for your phone’s connection. EQB packet page - 9 MINNESOTA