Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media contact: Forrest Peterson, (320) 214-3789 WILLMAR, Minn. - The public is invited to an open house from 2 to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 27, at the new location of the Willmar office of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Staff members will be present to describe various programs, and refreshments will be served. In March the MPCA moved its office to a new location in the former Home State Building at 1601 E. Highway 12. When the Willmar office opened in 1999, it was at 201 28th Ave. S.W. The MPCA's Willmar and Marshall offices serve 18 counties in southwestern Minnesota: Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Meeker, McLeod, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Swift and Yellow Medicine. Regional staff provide citizens and businesses with information to help them protect the environment and help ensure that requirements are met. Primary programs with regional office staff include municipal wastewater, feedlots and solid waste. Other programs with regional or St. Paul-based staff assigned to the region include stormwater, tanks, emergency response, hazardous waste, public information and impaired waters. More information about the MPCA is on the Web at http://www.pca.state.mn.us. "With the focus of environmental protection shifting to nonpoint sources of pollution, the regional offices play a very important role," says Bob Finley, MPCA Southwest Region manager. "This is especially true in the area of water quality. We really appreciate calls that we receive from citizens alerting the agency to issues that require our attention." "We've done a fairly good job of trying to protect and improve water quality in lakes, but with continued pressure from urban development and other land uses, such as agriculture, our regional offices keep very busy with a multitude of programs to make sure that we continue to have a healthy natural environment." The state legislature created the MPCA in 1967 to clean up and protect the state's land, air and water resources. The Willmar office is one of seven regional offices of the MPCA outside the Twin Cities metro area. The address for the MPCA Willmar Office is: 1601 E. Highway 12, Suite 1, Willmar, MN 56201. Phone (320) 214-3786, fax (320) 214-3787.