The MPCA’s Remediation Division includes Superfund, Site Assessment, Petroleum Remediation, Brownfields, RCRA Remediation, Closed Landfill, and Integrated Remediation programs. We investigate sites where hazardous substances have been or may have been released to the environment and identify risks and appropriate cleanup efforts.
For us to obtain the best-quality data and make it easily accessible to the public, electronic data collection is crucial.
- Play the Data Journey video to learn the importance of electronic data.
Environmental data submittals
Use MPCA's new online portal to submit field and analytical data in electronic format.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
Requirements for electronic data submittal
The MPCA’s Remediation Division requires electronic submittals for field and analytical data for all sites. The MPCA may withhold closure letters, assurance letters, or approvals until field and laboratory electronic data have been received. Check with MPCA project managers for details about specific sites.
Contact the Remediation EQuIS team (remequis.mpca@state.mn.us) with questions.
Field data
Field data electronic data deliverables (EDDs) must be submitted electronically to the MPCA in EDGE_MN format.
The MPCA uses EarthSoft’s EQuIS Data Gathering Engine (EDGE), an EQuIS-compatible application for recording field sampling data and field observations. The EDGE application generates EDDs in our custom format that enforces MPCA’s data standards.
- Download EDGE from the EarthSoft website.
- EDGE ver. 7.2 (for now, email the Remediation EQuIS team for download instructions)
- EDGE ver. 6.1 is no longer available for download. You can continue to email EDGE_MN EDDs generated in EDGE ver. 6.1 until July 1, 2024: remequis.mpca@state.mn.us
Submit field data EDD in EDGE_MN format
- EDGE_MN submittals using the new EDGE 7 format must go through the portal.
- Contractors can continue to email EDGE 6 EDDs until July 2024.
Instructional videos about EDGE
The Remediation Division created a series of videos to familiarize users with EDGE. At this time, the videos are about ver. 6.1, but are helpful in using the new version (ver. 7.2). Please watch the videos before emailing the Remediation EQuIS team with questions about EDGE.
- Downloading and setting up EDGE
- Creating a project task code, creating location records
- Creating field sample records
- Entering field measurements
- Entering water level and purge information
- Entering water level-only information
- Creating soil and soil gas sampling records
- Entering new well records and well construction details
- Creating and populating an EDGE chain of custody
- Blanks, duplicates, and exporting and sending the EDD to the MPCA
- Obtaining location unique identifiers (LUIs) and obtaining replacement Minnesota unique well IDs
Laboratory data
The MPCA uses EarthSoft’s Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) database to store and manage monitoring data and associated laboratory results collected through MPCA programs and partnerships from streams, lakes, groundwater, ambient air, soil, sediment, and gas.
The MPCA collaborated with EarthSoft to develop Lab_MN, an EDD format that allows labs to submit EQuIS-compatible analytical data to the MPCA.
- Laboratories that are licensed to submit analytical data to the MPCA are required to be able to export an EDD in Lab_MN format.
- When delivering or sending samples to a laboratory, sampling contractors should specify that the data be sent to the MPCA in Lab_MN format using the MPCA Environmental Data Submittal Portal.
- Contractors and laboratories submitting amended Lab_MN EDDs should email them to wqdata.mpca@state.mn.us with an explanation for why the EDD has been amended.
- Laboratories can download the MPCA's custom Lab_MN EDD format and supporting files from the EarthSoft website.
Submit laboratory EDD in Lab_MN format
- New Lab_MN EDDs for Remediation sites must go through the portal.
- Amended Lab_MN EDDs should be emailed, with an explanation of the amendment.
Using the MPCA chain-of-custody
The MPCA chain-of-custody (COC) is formatted to include fields for required EQuIS data. If you cannot generate a COC in the EDGE application, we ask that you use this COC whenever possible.
Email remequis.mpca@state.mn.us to request the MPCA COC in Excel format.
Using location unique identifiers
A location unique identifier (LUI) connects a sample location to specific GIS coordinates. Learn more about how the MPCA uses these identifiers and how to get them.
Contact us
If you have questions about the data submittal requirements or using EDGE, please email the Remediation EQuIS team at remequis.mpca@state.mn.us or call the Remediation EQuIS hotline at 651-757-2900.