Air

Vision: Minnesota's clean and clear air supports healthy communities and a strong economy

Goal: Minnesota’s outdoor air is healthy for all to breathe.

• Ensure ambient air is better than air quality standards and health benchmarks.
• Ensure emissions from non-point and non-permitted point sources do not create unacceptable exposures.

Goal: Minnesota reduces its contribution to regional, national and global air pollution.

• Reduce Minnesota’s contribution to global mercury levels by meeting the statewide mercury-reduction target.
• Reduce Minnesota’s contribution to global concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) by meeting the emission-reduction goals in the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007.
• Reduce Minnesota’s contribution to regional haze.

Land / waste

Vision: Minnesota’s land supports healthy ecosystems and sustainable land uses

Goal: Solid waste is managed to conserve materials, resources and energy.

• Ensure waste is reduced, recycling and organic recovery is increased, resource recovery capacity is maintained, and landfilling is reduced.

Goal: Land is managed to prevent, minimize, or reduce the release of contaminants.

• Regulate aboveground and underground storage tank systems and solid and hazardous waste management facilities to ensure federal program commitments are met.

Goal: Contaminated sites are managed to reduce risks to human health and the environment and allow continued use or reuse.

• Manage risks at remediation sites.
• Prepare sites for continued use or reuse.
• Address sites in a timely and efficient manner.
• Maintain agency preparedness procedures to ensure that environmental and health risks are mitigated in major incidents and disasters; acute risks are managed within hours or days.

People and approaches

Vision: Minnesotans and the MPCA take actions to protect our land, water and air

Goal: Businesses, public entities, formal and informal community groups  and residents conserve resources and prevent pollution to protect the environment and support a strong economy.

• Provide direct technical assistance to prevent and/or reduce the amount of pollution generated.
• Engage in outreach activities that support Minnesotans’ efforts to increase environmentally responsible actions.

Goal: MPCA regulatory programs are efficient and effective.

• Prevent and control pollution from regulated facilities through efficient permitting along with effective compliance and enforcement.

Goal: Minnesotans better understand the connections between individual decisions and environmental effects.

• Facilitate environmental understanding and partnership through communications and outreach.

Goal: Pollution does not have a disproportionate negative impact on any group of people.

• Develop and implement program strategies to identify and address environmental justice concerns.
• Identify and enhance opportunities for all Minnesotans to provide meaningful input into MPCA environmental decision making.

Operations

Vision: The MPCA will demonstrate excellence in operations

Goal: The MPCA continuously strives for improvement and regularly evaluates performance.

• Implement an integrated system for performance management.
• Embed the principles of continuous improvement in the culture of the agency.

Goal: The MPCA recruits and retains an engaged, motivated, and creative workforce.

• Attract an improving workforce by utilizing the assets and qualities of our workplace and the merits of our mission.
• Retain a high-quality workforce.

Goal: Delivery of MPCA data and services is timely, transparent and reliable.

• Develop and maintain high-quality, accessible data systems.
• Provide user-focused service delivery.