By Tony Kennedy

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Three groups representing dozens of Greater Minnesota cities said Thursday they will sue the state Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to overturn or modify new water-quality rules meant to reduce phosphorus pollution in rivers, streams and Lake Pepin.

The cities contend that the new clean-water standards are excessive and will cost their communities millions of dollars to upgrade water and sewage-treatment plants. Phosphorus is found in human and animal waste and has been found to contribute to unwanted plant growth, including algae, in some of Minnesota’s most treasured waterways.

“Everyone supports clean water,” said Heidi Omerza, president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. “But this time state regulators have gone too far.”

Omerza and the heads of two other groups, the League of Minnesota Cities and the Minnesota Environmental Science and Economic Review Board (MESERB), said they will file their challenge Friday with the Minnesota Court of Appeals. They have argued for many months that the new state standards exceed federal limits, lack a basis in sound science and deserve additional peer review.

—Distributed by MCT Information Services