Virtual File - Item

Text: July 6, 2021

Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan,

It has been my honor to serve as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
and as a trusted member of your Cabinet for the past two and a half years. It is with gratitude
and regret that I submit my resignation.

The talented team at the MPCA has shown incredible resilience and flexibility, especially during
these past 16 months. Upholding the mission to protect and improve the environment and
public health is embedded in the heart of each and every employee at the agency using data,
science, and a community-focused process that guides their decisions. I am incredibly proud of
the employees that work every day to make Minnesota better.

Leading the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) as Commissioner has been the
highlight of my career in the private and public sectors. After leaving a successful fifteen-year
career with one of Minnesota's leading Fortune 50 corporations, I feel honored to have been
part of this Administration. I entered the role eager to understand the concerns of regulated
parties, our communities, and Tribal partners and work with you to incorporate those insights
to best advance the One Minnesota priorities. From the beginning, I have been guided by my
core belief that we can have economic growth and protect the environment.

I traveled across the state and sat at the union hall table with the United Steel Workers in
Virginia; visited Cambria's world headquarters in Le Sueur; worked with the City of Luverne on
an innovative permit that both protects the water and brought hundreds of new jobs to
southwest Minnesota; and toured POET's biorefining facility in Preston that is creating new
products including corn-based asphalt and capturing and commoditizing carbon. These
experiences and others confirmed my beliefs that our workers and industries are the economic
engine of our state, and that we can protect our vital natural resources while growing
businesses.

It's also clear that Minnesotans want the MPCA to do everything possible to protect our air,
water and land and act with urgency in addressing the climate crisis. I listened to our youth cry
out for the Governor and lawmakers to act, had protesters at my home at all hours and worked
with our MPCA team to address concerns within our permits and with legislators to propose
policy solutions that begin to move us in a direction that addresses environmental justice.

I am especially proud to have served as Chair of the Climate Subcabinet and worked with fellow
Commissioners to prioritize and advance our climate change priorities. We can be proud of the
numerous successes this legislative session, including advancing clean car standards, climate
resiliency grants, energy efficiency improvements for low-income communities, commitments
toward ensuring a just transition for workers, investments in soil health, tree and forest health,
solar energy, multi-modal transportation and more. Ensuring Minnesota abide by its
greenhouse gas reduction commitments established in the bipartisan Next Generation Act
Energy goals set in 2007 should not be a partisan endeavor and I applaud your resolve to get
Minnesota back on track to meet or exceed this goal.

The MPCA Commissioner is a job that never wins a popularity contest, yet, in my view, is one of
the most important roles in the Cabinet. For many, the agency can never go far enough in our
protections, while at the same time, a segment of the Republican caucus will always believe the
agency goes too far.

As Commissioner, I worked with policymakers on both sides of the aisle. The environment
budget we negotiated together this session is representative of this relationship. The agency
has worked tirelessly with legislators answering questions and finding solutions. Whether it
was PFAS, feedlots, or other issues, we were able to work together, negotiated amendments
that addressed concerns of communities, farmers, and industries, and provided added support
to local governments.

Personally, I testified before the legislature, representing the MPCA and the Governor, for three
full legislative sessions and spent countless hours responding to any phone calls or questions.
For two hours last August, I appeared before a joint Senate committee hearing titled
"Reviewing the job performance of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Laura
Bishop" -the only commissioner to receive such a "review." I left that committee feeling
satisfied that I had answered all questions, understood the remaining concerns of the
lawmakers and felt reassured when the Republican chair said she looked forward to continuing
to work together. And while the Administration's policies may not always see eye to eye with
Republican lawmakers, there has never been a question related to my job performance or my
qualifications.

Thank you for your support and for entrusting me to this role in service to the State of
Minnesota. I am grateful for this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Laura Bishop
Commissioner