Minnesota Agencies

The Governor's Council on Biofuels is created to advise the Governor, and the Commissioners of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Commerce, and the Pollution Control Agency on the role of biofuels in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and recommend policy and budget proposals to foster growth in the production and use of biofuels. The Department of Agriculture must submit a report to the Governor, based upon the Council's recommendations, by November 1, 2020.

The executive order creating the Governor’s Council on Biofuels (Executive Order 19-35) was signed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Brian Thalmann’s farm in Plato, Minn. on September 16, 2019.

The Council released a report on November 2, 2020 with their findings, conclusions, and recommendations that resulted from a nine-month-long consensus-building process. Topics of discussion included E15 (gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol) and mid-level blends, biodiesel, and biofuels infrastructure; low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS); biofuels use in the state fleet; public understanding and marketing; vehicles and biofuels; advanced biofuels; and benzene/BTEX.

The commissioner of agriculture was asked by the 2020 Minnesota legislature to prepare a report by January 15, 2021 outlining Minnesota's ability to meet the petroleum replacement goal in Minnesota Statutes, section 239.7911, and use biofuels to achieve the greenhouse gas reductions under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216H. The Legislature’s directives for this report (contained in Laws of Minnesota 2020, chapter 89, article 4, section 36) closely parallel the directives to the Governor’s Council on Biofuels. Their January 2021 report provided below discusses the Governor’s Council’s recommendations and how they relate to the topics required in the commissioner's report.

The Council must consist of 15 members appointed by the Governor representing agriculture, the biofuels industry, transportation, environmental and conservation interests, and other relevant stakeholders.

Council Members:

• Gary Anderson – Eagan, MN
• Michael Bull – Northfield Township, MN
• John Christianson – Lake Lillian, MN
• Elizabeth Crow – Minneapolis, MN
• Tim Gross – Duluth, MN
• Chris Hanson – Fountain, MN
• Rick Horton – Grand Rapids, MN
• Kevin Lee – Minneapolis, MN
• Lance Klatt – Little Canada, MN
• Jeanne McCaherty – Prior Lake, MN
• Mick Miller – Morris, MN
• Kevin Paap – Lake Crystal, MN
• Brian Thalmann – Plato, MN
• Gary Wertish – Renville, MN
• Bob Worth – Lake Benton, MN