Hennepin County’s Climate Action Plan

Climate change is likely to bring more abrupt and challenging situations, such as flash floods or severe weather, that worsen existing disparities. A climate hazard, such as water in the basement, could be an inconvenience for some, a manageable problem for others, or a catastrophic event for those without the means to respond. Building a more resilient community at both the individual and community level will help disrupt disparities and protect our society, economy, and public health.

Objective: Hennepin County becomes a more resilient community that can withstand and adapt to abrupt and sometimes unforeseen weather, social, and economic changes

• Strategy: Strengthen individual and community resilience

The impacts of climate change will affect all residents, but the impacts will not be felt equally.

Like other environmental justice issues, data show that our communities of color, low-income families, and residents with disabilities contribute least to the problem of climate pollution. Despite this, vulnerable residents are the most at risk from negative climate impacts, especially during flooding events, heat waves, and poor air quality days.

As the county seeks to protect residents most vulnerable to climate change impacts, we acknowledge that those who have the least capacity to respond to climate change will be most affected.

Objective: The county’s response to climate change prioritizes the protection of the most vulnerable residents and advances equitable health outcomes

• Strategy: Better understand and plan for the health needs of our diverse communities
• Strategy: Mitigate disproportionate impacts associated with climate change

Climate change affects all parts of the county and all residents, businesses, and organizations. Transformative climate policies must be driven and supported by the public. To advance an impactful climate change response, we need to engage residents, listen to how climate change is impacting them, and collectively build support for solutions. Defining and articulating our collective vision for a climate-friendly future is critical to motivate collective action.

Objective: Residents, businesses, and organizations pursue individual actions and support collective actions that drive systems change

• Strategy: Educate and engage the public in taking collective action

New green infrastructure on land and property that Hennepin County owns and manages will help respond to projected changes in precipitation. Installing, establishing, and maintaining this infrastructure creates an opportunity to train a new green workforce and define new contract standards.

Youth participating in a community engagement session for the Climate Actin Plan suggested providing green job training in schools. They expressed interest in jobs such as building solar panels and working in the renewable energy sector, planting urban gardens and supporting urban agriculture, construction jobs for energy efficiency and extreme weather resiliency, conducting outreach to schools, environmental consultant to companies, transit driver.

Objective: County climate investments support broader county goals to reduce disparities in employment and grow the economy

• Strategy: Maximize green economic recovery and workforce development opportunities

Transportation infrastructure is currently designed to handle a broad range of impacts based on historic climate records and familiar seasonal variations. Preparing for climate change and extreme weather events using projections of increased precipitation and heavier rainfall events is critical to protecting the integrity of the transportation system and the sound investment of taxpayer dollars.

While most county roads are kept passable with a stormwater pipe network, these pipes were designed to old precipitation projections and may not adequately keep roads passable given mid-century precipitation projections.

In addition, Minnesota is experiencing warmer winters and an increase in freeze/thaw events, which negatively impact pavement systems. Generally speaking, more freeze/thaw cycles will accelerate infrastructure deterioration, especially for older pavements that already have many distresses and cracks in the surface and places where water will impact buildings, facades, sidewalks, and plazas.

Objective: Climate risks and impacts to county buildings and infrastructure are assessed and mitigated

• Strategy: Reassess policies, design standards, and maintenance practices for county buildings and infrastructure project

Surface water impacts are determined by how much and how quickly precipitation falls and by the ability of soils to infiltrate water or the capability of storm water conveyance systems to drain it away. Increased precipitation also increases groundwater recharge, which in many cases results in a rise in local water tables. This can create groundwater flooding, which is already occurring in several locations in Hennepin County.

The increased flooding poses risks to numerous properties, many of which may not have flood insurance because they are located outside of the mapped 100-year floodplain. While the acute risks posed by surface flooding from heavy rains are potentially covered, the longer-term impacts of increased precipitation such as rising water table levels and the expansion of wetlands and shorelines can jeopardize local infrastructure, private wells and sewage treatment systems, cause flooded basements, and create water-quality impacts.

Objective: Risks and impacts from increased precipitation, flooding, and landslides are reduced

• Strategy: Reassess policies and practices to manage increased stormwater volumes
• Strategy: Manage the increased risk of landslides due to increased rainfall
• Strategy: Coordinate regional stormwater resiliency efforts with public entity partners

Green Infrastructure refers to ecological systems, both natural and engineered, that act as living infrastructure. Examples include rain gardens, bio-swales, and green roofs. These systems restore some of the natural processes required to manage water and create healthier urban environments.

Building and maintaining green infrastructure to manage stormwater in flood-prone areas, especially on county-owned property, can protect surrounding properties, create green spaces, and make the community more resilient to climate change.

The county has developed green infrastructure through programs including transit-oriented development, Environmental Response Fund for the clean up of contaminated sites, natural resources grants, and forestry.

Objective: The county employs green and natural infrastructure, including trees, plants, and soil, to build resiliency, especially in areas at higher risks for localized flooding and extreme heat

• Strategy: Reassess policies and practices to ensure capacity to design, implement, and maintain green infrastructure
• Strategy: Use county investments to increase resilience in the built environment
• Strategy: Plant, diversify, and maintain trees throughout Hennepin County and increase the resiliency of the county’s community forest

Hennepin County has an abundance of natural areas and diverse landscapes that provide critical habitat for wildlife, protect water quality, offer recreational opportunities, and serve as the foundation for the region’s environmental wellbeing, economic prosperity, and collective quality of life.

As the Soil and Water Conservation District for Hennepin County, the county is responsible for providing technical and financial assistance to landowners to help manage natural resources, protect soil, preserve habitats, and improve water quality. The county also enforces wetland regulations, establishes conservation easements, protects natural areas, maintains natural resources data, and provides technical assistance to local governments.

Native wildlife and plants are extremely sensitive to climate change impacts. Climate change will further disrupt our ecosystems, which are already impacted by invasive species, population growth, and development. Healthy ecosystems play a vital role not only in the health of plants and animals, but of people, too.

The trend toward a wetter climate has already added uncertainty and increased the challenge of producing food in a rapidly developing county. Working with residents to preserve open space and improve agricultural practices represent some of the best opportunities to sequester carbon, manage increased precipitation, connect habitats, and improve access to nutritious, locally produced food.

Objective: Natural areas and open spaces are functional and diverse

• Strategy: Plan for and mitigate anticipated ecosystem and open space impacts

As a large organization, a major consumer of energy, and an energy generator, Hennepin County can have a significant impact through efforts to reduce energy use and improve energy efficiency in buildings.

The county is well situated to lead by example in reducing energy use and associated emissions, as well as influencing energy planning, policies and regulations to lessen the impact on the environment, improve communities, and protect public health.

Aspects of reducing emissions and meeting greenhouse goals with buildings and energy use are:

• Conserving energy and using energy more efficiently in existing buildings
• Electrifying buildings
• Using carbon-free electricity sources, such as solar and wind, for county operations and making carbon-free electricity more widely available for residents and businesses.
• Other ways to avoid greenhouse gas emissions with buildings is by reusing buildings and building materials rather than building new and by using of a lifecycle analysis when designing new buildings.

Objective: Greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings and energy use are reduced to meet the state’s Next Generation Energy Act and county emission goals

• Strategy: Reduce climate impacts of buildings through innovative and efficient design, including the use of climate-friendly material choices
• Strategy: Transition to renewable energy sources, reduce energy use overall in county operations
• Strategy: Support Hennepin County communities in establishing initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy use

Hennepin County plans, funds, builds, and manages a transportation network of roadways, bikeways, and sidewalks. Long-term partnerships have produced an increasingly dense network of transit and transportation options that include light rail transit, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, bikeways, and pedestrian walkways.

As the first Minnesota county to adopt a Complete Streets policy, Hennepin County recognizes the importance of addressing the needs of transit riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians along with the needs of motorists.

Transportation emissions have declined slightly in the past decade despite an increase in the number of miles driven due to increased transit options, higher fuel economy standards, and intelligent traffic systems that reduces congestion. But Minnesota’s transportation planners have determined that we will not be able to achieve our state greenhouse gas emission reduction goals without reducing vehicle miles traveled.

Managing the land and infrastructure in the county's transportation network creates opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, sequester carbon, manage increased precipitation, and reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect. As our transportation system evolves, reducing air pollutants from fossil fuel combustion will not only help meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, but also reduces disparities in traffic-related health impacts.

Objective: Greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation are reduced to meet the county emission goals

• Strategy: Reduce vehicle miles traveled in Hennepin County and throughout the region
• Strategy:Promote electric vehicle infrastructure regionally
• Strategy: Use transportation investments to support broader county goals including reducing disparities, improving health, enhancing livability, and growing the economy

Creating new products requires energy – to harvest raw material, process it, manufacture it, transport it, and sometimes, to use it. When looking at emissions to show how they are tied to the production of materials and goods, producing and transporting goods is associated with 45% of global emissions.

This underscores the importance of sustainable purchasing. Significant opportunities to reduce emissions with waste and materials include:

• Using the purchasing power of public entities to make a positive impact on climate change through procurement decisions.
• Increasing the salvage, reuse, and recycling of building materials from construction and demolition projects.
• Reducing food waste and increasing the composting or digesting of food scraps.
• Shifting consumer behaviors to increase the understanding of the climate impacts of consumer choices and reducing the environmental impacts of waste.
• Making policy changes that hold producers responsible for good accountable and advance zero-waste initiatives.

Objective: Greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste and material use are reduced to meet county goals

• Strategy: Prevent food waste and divert organic material from the trash
• Strategy: Reuse and recycle construction and demolition waste
• Strategy: Understand the climate impacts of our consumer choices and mitigate the largest impacts
• Strategy: Advocate for state leadership on zero-waste policies and producer responsibility

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is a critical part of achieving net zero carbon emissions since it involves “balancing” a certain measured amount of carbon released with an amount of carbon offsets.

Protecting, restoring, and managing natural ecosystems, planting trees and plants, and leveraging the ability of soil to store carbon are among the most effective ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Each decision that Hennepin County makes around the use and management of properties it owns and manages presents an opportunity to sequester carbon. In addition, through the county’s role as the Soil and Water Conservation District, there is tremendous opportunity to sequester carbon on private property.

Researchers are also working to improve technologies that capture the carbon dioxide generated by burning fossil fuels before it is released to the atmosphere. Carbon capture technology is relatively expensive compared to carbon sequestration through biological processes, but this is a field of research to monitor for developments.

Objective: The county sequesters carbon on county-owned property, including along county road rights-of-way and tax-forfeit properties.

• Strategy: Reassess policies and practices to increase carbon sequestration on county-owned properties

Objective: Landowners sequester carbon by protecting and restoring habitat, building soil health, and preserving and planting trees.

• Strategy: Assist residents to sequester carbon on private property

Cities, watershed organizations, park districts, and other regional and state units of government have been engaged to share their priorities for climate work and opportunities for collaboration and to gather feedback on proposed strategies that will require external partnership and greater coordination to achieve.

Objective: Partnership models driven by mutual climate goals are explored and pursued

• Strategy: Pursue strategies with the widest agreement and clearest direction forward

Feedback during the development of the plan was gathered from representatives from nonprofit, community-based organizations, high-school-aged youth involved in environmental and climate change groups, and the county’s Race Equity Advisory Council. Partners expressed strong interest in collaboration and commitment to working with us to ensure our plan is effective and impactful.

Objective: Communities are engaged and empowered through partnership and shared leadership

• Strategy: Establish long-term partnerships to increase engagement and support community-driven solutions