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<br /> <br />ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES <br />RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF BALANCED <br />CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION <br /> <br />WHEREAS the Minnesota State Legislature recently passed Renewable Energy Standard <br />(RES) legislation requiring 25% of utility companies generation portfolio to be produced by <br />renewable generation by the year 2025, and <br /> <br />WHEREAS the RES legislation would reduce the amount of additional CO2 being emitted <br />into the environment by Minnesota utilities, and <br /> <br />WHEREAS the legislature is now considering major climate change legislation that could <br />have significant impacts on achieving the recently adopted RES as well as on the ability of <br />Minnesota utilities to meet the growing needs of the citizens of the State of Minnesota as well <br />as neighboring states, and <br /> <br />WHEREAS legislators are urged to consider the result of significantly more expensive power <br />due to climate change legislation and the impact that would have on economic development <br />throughout rural Minnesota, and <br /> <br />WHEREAS any climate change legislation adopted by the State of Minnesota needs to <br />consider the proper balance between reducing CO2 emissions and meeting the growing energy <br />needs ofthe citizens of the State of Minnesota to ensure the continued health and vitality of <br />the Minnesota economy, and <br /> <br />WHEREAS the currently proposed legislation only targets the utility sector and ignores the <br />more significant CO2 emissions from other sectors of the economy, <br /> <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Elk River Municipal Utilities urges the <br />Minnesota Legislature to develop climate change legislation that will broadly consider the <br />CO2 emissions of all segments of the economy rather than only select segments of the <br />economy, and <br /> <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature is urged to consider the technological <br />feasibility oflegislation being considered as well as the ability to meet the growing energy <br />needs of the citizens of Minnesota under any climate change legislation being considered, and <br /> <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Elk River Municipal Utilities supports a deliberative <br />approach to the passage of climate change legislation by the State of Minnesota involving an <br />in depth study of the economic, technological and environmental elements to be considered in <br />any such legislation, and <br /> <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such a study be carried out in an environment that <br />recognized the adopted goals of the Minnesota RES but does not prohibit the electric utility <br />segment from meeting the needs of the growing Minnesota economy. <br /> <br />Passed by the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission by a unanimous vote on April <br />10,2007. <br /> <br />Bryan Adams, P.E. <br />General Manager <br />Elk River Municipal Utilities <br />