Drycleaner Fund
Past spills, leaks, or careless disposal of drycleaning chemicals have resulted in soil, groundwater and soil vapor contamination at sites around the state. The Minnesota Legislature, working with drycleaners' trade associations and the MPCA, established the Drycleaner Environmental Response and Reimbursement Account (Drycleaner Fund) in 1995. The law provides a means to reimburse owners and operators for the cost of cleanup of soil, groundwater or soil vapor contamination resulting from drycleaning facilities. Under the Drycleaner Fund, most drycleaning facilities that provided services to the general public may apply for reimbursement for their investigation and cleanup work. Annual registration fees paid by drycleaning facilities, as well as solvent fees collected by retailers of particular drycleaning chemicals, will be used to finance the fund.
- Dry cleaner environmental response and reimbursement law (115B.47 - 115B.51)
- State Coalition for the Remediation of Drycleaners
Brownfield funding opportunities
In addition to the MPCA's ongoing funding for brownfield investigation, the MPCA also provides letters of support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grant funds.
To obtain a letter of support, email a brief description of the project and the specific site and property ownership eligibility requirements to brownfieldgrants.mpca@state.mn.us at least two weeks prior to your deadline. Review the Letter from the State requirements carefully before submitting your request to avoid delays. The MPCA will issue one letter for sites with hazardous substances commingled with petroleum.
Petrofund
The Petroleum Tank Release Cleanup Fund (Petrofund), administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, reimburses eligible applicants up to 90% of reasonable and necessary costs they incur in responding to a petroleum spill or leak. The Petrofund has published guidelines on which costs qualify as reasonable, and the MPCA determines what work is necessary to protect human health and the environment. Eligible applicants include responsible parties (RPs) as well as non-RPs that hold legal or equitable title to the property where the release occurred. Besides determining what work is necessary, the MPCA plays a role in the reimbursement process by reviewing an applicant’s compliance with statutory requirements. Learn more:
Small business environmental improvement loans
The MPCA provides loans at zero-percent interest to small businesses for costs associated with the investigation and cleanup of contaminated sites. To quality, a borrower must be an existing small business corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, or association with less than 100 full-time employees, an after-tax profit of less than $500,000 and a demonstrated ability to repay the loan.