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Housing and Economic Development <br />Metro Cities supports public and private environmental protection efforts to reduce <br />greenhouse gas emissions and to further protect surface and ground water. Metro <br />Cities also supports "green" design and construction techniques to the extent that <br />those techniques have been thoroughly tested and are truly environmentally <br />beneficial, economically sustainable and represent sound building practices. Metro <br />Cities supports additional, feasible environmental protection with adequate funding <br />and incentives to comply. <br />Green jobs represent employment and entrepreneurial opportunities that are part of the <br />green economy, as defined in Minnesota statue 116.4301, including the four industry <br />sectors of green products, renewable energy, green services and environmental <br />conservation. Minnesota's green jobs policies, strategies and investments need to lead to <br />high quality jobs with good wages and benefits, meeting current wage and labor laws. <br />3-Q Impaired Waters <br />Metro Cities supports continued development of the metropolitan area in a manner <br />that is responsive to the market, but is cognizant of the need to protect the water <br />resources of the state and metro area. Since all types of properties are required to <br />pay storm water fees, Metro Cities opposes entity -specific exemptions from these <br />fees. Metro Cities supports the goals of the Clean Water Act and efforts at both the <br />federal and state level to implement it. <br />Metro Cities supports continued funding of the framework established to improve <br />the region's ability to respond to market demands for development and <br />redevelopment, including dedicated funding for surface water impairment <br />assessments, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development, storm water <br />construction grants and wastewater construction grants. <br />Local units of government should not bear undue cost burdens associated with completed <br />TMDL reports. As recent TMDL reports show, non -point agricultural sources are <br />producing more run off pollution than urban areas at a rate of 13:1. Cities must not be <br />required as primary entities for funding the clean-up and protection of state and regional <br />water resources. Benefits of efforts must be proportional to the costs incurred and <br />agricultural sources must be held responsible for their share of costs. <br />2016 Legislative Policies 35 <br />