The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) fined Xcel Energy $13,687 and McGough Construction $12,168 for improperly releasing polluted stormwater at Xcel Energy’s St. Paul Service Center construction site on the city’s east side.
On Nov. 6, 2025, the MPCA received a report of a whitish-gray discharge from Xcel’s St. Paul Service Center entering a storm sewer system that drains into a nearby wetland. On Nov. 20, the MPCA received a report of a similar event, with approximately 4,000 gallons of polluted water entering the storm sewer system.
The Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) provided inspection reports and photographs of the releases to MPCA staff. The district also alerted the MPCA to an additional release on Oct. 28, 2025. Minnesota law forbids allowing sewage or other waste to enter any waters of the state, including the wetland noted above.
Both companies failed to properly notify the MPCA of these discharges. A review of maintenance and inspection records also showed that both companies also failed to conduct 14 standard inspections of the stormwater management on the St. Paul Service Center construction site between March and November 2025.
In addition to paying the fine, Xcel Energy and McGough agreed to immediately begin inspections of the site after rainfalls and submitted a written plan to the MPCA detailing new procedures to prevent future stormwater releases and promptly report any such releases.
The MPCA is committed to protecting human health and the environment by enforcing rules and regulations and limiting pollution and discharges from facilities. When facilities do not fully comply with regulatory requirements, the resulting pollution can be harmful to people and the environment. Since 2019, the MPCA has issued 8,365 enforcement actions amounting to more than $24 million in penalties.
When calculating penalties, the MPCA considers how seriously the violations affected or could have affected the environment, and whether they were first-time or repeat violations. The agency also attempts to recover the economic benefit the company gained by failing to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner.