Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed eight people to a new committee to advise the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

Dayton created the panel by executive order last year after the Legislature abolished the MPCA Citizens’ Board, which had final authority over key environmental review decisions and came under fire from farm interests and Republican legislators. The new committee has no formal powers, but Dayton said in a statement Tuesday that it will ensure citizen input into environmental regulatory decisions. Like the former Citizens’ Board, the committee will be chaired by the MPCA commissioner.

The appointees include people from the health care, agricultural, industrial and government sectors. They will provide advice in four main areas: environmental reviews, permit applications, developing agency rules and requests for rule variances.

The appointees are:

Craig Acomb, president and CEO of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI), an independent, nonprofit health care improvement organization.

Amira Adawe, a planner and health educator with St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health.

Cortney Amundson, founder and director of Mindful Restoration LLC, which provides eco-therapy to individuals and groups.

Kurt Anderson, manager of the Environmental & Land Management Department for Allete Inc., a Duluth-based coal and energy company.

Rebecca Forman, a senior analyst at Merjent Inc., a Minneapolis energy and environmental consulting firm.

Nathaniel Hultgren, agronomy director for Meadow Star Dairy, a large western-Minnesota livestock operation.

Norman Miranda, senior technical director with HR Green Co. and a former manager in the Minneapolis Public Works Department.

Ted Winter, a licensed insurance agent with Farmers Union Insurance and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he served two years as majority leader.

STAFF and WIRE REPORTS