Thank you for your support of Olmsted County initiatives, Rep. Smith
This week, I presented a bill to the Capital Investment Committee supporting Olmsted County Minnesota 's Waste-to-Energy Facility's request to build a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). This facility would be a game-changer for our regional recycling efforts, efficiently removing metals, glass, and other non-combustible materials from our waste stream. The proposed MRF would be built right alongside the current Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility, creating a one-stop waste management hub that could become a model for the rest of Minnesota. Right now, Southeastern Minnesota doesn't have anything like this, which means our communities have to ship materials long distances for processing, usually the Twin Cities, costing more money and creating more pollution in the process. I also presented a bill in the Agriculture Committee focused on protecting something we can't live without—our water. The bill would take the successful Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program and expand it to the entire Southeastern Minnesota region. These grants tackle three big challenges: reducing crop nutrients from leaching into our groundwater, keeping nitrogen where it belongs in the soil, and fighting erosion. This approach is smart environmental policy—addressing problems at their source before they become bigger issues while also helping farmers in our region. Full legislative update here: https://lnkd.in/gckhUK7C