Friends and neighbors —
Over the last few days, I have received questions about the resignation of Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner Laura Bishop. Bishop resigned on July 6 because she faced a difficult confirmation process before the Senate. Speaking only for myself, I strongly supported NOT confirming her to her position. I want to briefly explain why.
I believe she abdicated her role as a commissioner by pursuing her own personal political and environmental agenda instead of correctly interpreting and applying current rules, regulations, and standards that exist to protect the health and safety of Minnesotans.
Two examples:
Glencoe Power and Light has been working for over a year to secure a required permit from the MPCA. I have met and worked with representatives from this plant throughout the process. Without getting into details, the MPCA chose to incorrectly apply a federal emissions standard to the permitting process. The Pollution Control Agency, under the direction of Commissioner Bishop, was aggressive and unwilling to negotiate a reasonable resolution. All they offered were ultimatums and mandates. If successful, Bishop’s incorrect application of that federal emissions standard will likely cost the residents of Glencoe millions of dollars to comply.
Bishop also badly mishandled the agency’s application of expensive California car mandates. Rather than follow the traditional legislative process, Bishop and the Pollution Control Agency chose to circumvent the legislature and adopt California vehicle emissions standards unilaterally. That means we are taking our direction straight from California; regular Minnesotans were cut out of a process that will increase the costs of new vehicles and lead to fewer choices. We attempted to work with Bishop and the Pollution Control Agency to handle this process the correct way, but she was dismissive and entirely uninterested in finding a reasonable solution.
Commissioners may be appointed by the governor “with the advice and consent of the Senate.” We take this constitutional responsibility very seriously because you deserve to have the head of state agencies fairly and uniformly apply the regulations and laws that directly affect your lives and not pursue a personal agenda. Laura Bishop failed in her job. For that reason, and no other, she chose to resign rather than face a public Senate confirmation process on the floor of the Senate.