Smith Foundry operated as an iron foundry at 1855 E. 28th St. in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis until August 2024. It produced iron castings for use with industrial machinery and the manufacturing of transportation equipment. The facility is now closed and no longer holds an MPCA air permit.
The neighborhood is an environmental justice area that consists of mixed residential, commercial, and industrial properties.
On Aug. 15, 2024, Smith Foundry informed the MPCA it will cease all manufacturing and production operations at the facility in East Phillips. This announcement came after a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigation that alleged air quality violations at the facility ended with a settlement agreement.
Our role
The MPCA supported the EPA in its investigation into Smith Foundry, which stemmed from the EPA’s May 2023 inspection of the foundry. The EPA discovered potential Clean Air Act violations during that inspection and subsequently issued a notice of violations to Smith Foundry. The notice alleged that Smith Foundry exceeded particulate matter emission limits, failed to properly operate its pollution control equipment, and failed to maintain required records.
In June 2024, the EPA announced a settlement agreement with Smith Foundry that required the facility to pay an $80,000 civil penalty, immediately shut down two of its pouring and cooling lines, and cease all furnace and casting operations within a year. The settlement agreement would have allowed Smith Foundry to operate as a metal finishing facility, which would generate significantly less amounts of pollutants than operating as a foundry.
Rather than pursue a permit from the MPCA to operate as a metal finishing facility, Smith Foundry announced in August 2024 that it would cease all production operations and close the East Phillips facility.
In response to the foundry's statement, the MPCA issued the following statement:
“Smith Foundry is required to follow all applicable state and federal laws — including any and all necessary clean-up — as it shuts down its facility. Smith Foundry could proactively enroll as a cooperative responsible party in the Minnesota Superfund Program and incorporate a baseline investigation into its upcoming decommissioning work. If Smith Foundry does not join the Superfund and if a release is discovered, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency may elect to list the site as a state Superfund site and follow its processes to ensure protection of human health, welfare, and the environment.”
To better understand air quality conditions in the surrounding neighborhood, the MPCA installed additional air monitoring sensors in early 2024, and continues to review data. The MPCA has also reviewed EPA-ordered stack testing of the foundry’s fine particulate and lead emissions that took place in December 2023.
Permit
The MPCA had committed to considering a new permit for the company to operate as a metal finishing facility. However, the company shut down all operations rather than provide information necessary for an operating air permit.
Air permitting in South Minneapolis is subject to a law passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2008 that requires extra studies called cumulative levels and effects analyses for any new or reissued air permits in this area of South Minneapolis. The cumulative levels and effects analysis helps the MPCA understand the combined effects of current and past pollution in a given geographic area and how this pollution affects the health of residents in the community.
Community dialogue
The MPCA is committed to maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the East Phillips community about our agency’s work in the neighborhood. We cannot fulfill our commitment to environmental justice nor our mission to protect and improve the environment and human health without including the community’s voices and perspectives. Our agency is working with community leaders to identify opportunities for regular conversations about the Smith Foundry facility and air quality in East Phillips as we move forward.
The MPCA held three community conversations in late 2023 and early 2024 to hear residents’ concerns and answer questions about the foundry’s existing air permit. One of the three meetings was held online and recorded.
More information
Air monitoring
The MPCA has installed two additional regulatory air monitors near Smith Foundry to measure lead and fine particle concentrations. The MPCA's air monitors continually measure pollutants to help improve and protect outdoor air. With this data, the agency can track pollution trends over time and show if outdoor air meets air quality standards and health benchmarks. Air monitors have strict requirements and are tested often to ensure high quality data. Air sensors are often used as a low cost, accessible alternative to air monitors. However, air sensor data may not be reliable enough to use for compliance or to compare to the air quality standards.
Fine particulate matter is reported in daily averages and available at East Phillips community fine particles monitoring data.
This table shows the lead concentration values from samples collected by the East Phillips Community monitor along with the wind direction on those days.
Sampling date | East Phillips Community lead value (µg/m3) * background Twin Cities lead level is 0.01 µg/m3 | Predominant wind direction** |
---|---|---|
1/13/2024 | 0.002646 | WSW |
1/19/2024 | 0.002394 | WSW |
1/25/2024 | 0.002639 | Unavailable |
1/31/2024 | 0.007670 | SW |
2/12/2024 | 0.002973 | WSW |
2/24/2024 | 0.006145 | S |
3/1/2024 | 0.01514 | S |
3/7/2024 | 0.00681 | variable |
3/13/2024 | 0.002655 | NE |
3/19/2024 | 0.006277 | SW |
3/25/2024 | 0.003276 | ENE |
3/31/2024 | 0.002711 | NE |
4/6/2024 | 0.00248 | ESE |
4/12/2024 | 0.00297 | WSW |
4/24/2024 | 0.003087 | ESE |
4/30/2024 | 0.003202 | SSW |
5/6/2024 | 0.004137 | SE |
5/12/2024 | 0.003857 | SW |
5/18/2024 | 0.003579 | WSW |
5/24/2024 | 0.003154 | WSW |
5/30/2024 | 0.009212 | SE |
6/5/2024 | 0.005693 | WSW |
6/11/2024 | 0.004935 | WSW |
** Smith Foundry is located WSW of the monitor.
Community air sensors currently gather data on air quality near Smith Foundry, including two within two blocks of the facility. The data from those sensors can vary based on weather and other factors but show no significant and long-term emissions concerns.
Stack testing
The EPA required Smith Foundry to complete air emissions monitoring in the facility’s stack as part of the agency’s investigation. A third party conducted the stack test in December 2023. The stack test results are a key component in verifying any lead emissions and the amount of particulate matter coming directly from several of the operations at the Smith Foundry facility.
The MPCA and EPA analyzed the stack test results in January 2024 and verified that Smith Foundry was not emitting more particulate matter than allowed by its permit at those operations. The test detected low amounts of lead coming from the facility. These results informed the EPA's investigation at Smith Foundry.
The data from that stack test represent a snapshot of Smith Foundry’s emissions, gathered over three days in December 2023. MPCA and EPA staff will factor in the facility’s production amounts as part of an analysis of the test results to calculate the total emissions from the facility throughout the year. MPCA and EPA staff can then compare that amount to established emission limits for Smith Foundry.
Timeline
- July 2006: Smith Foundry paid a $13,871 penalty for air quality and air permit violations resulting from a complaint of "black sand" surrounding the foundry. An MPCA investigation determined that the emissions resulted from the failure of particulate-trapping equipment called a baghouse. A subsequent MPCA inspection discovered overdue performance testing of equipment and use of other equipment not covered by the company's air permit. The foundry corrected the violations and submitted a detailed plan to avoid similar violations.
- December 2018: The MPCA completed a full inspection of Smith Foundry and found no violations.
- From 2018 to 2023: The MPCA received 13 complaints about the foundry. Ten were odor-related and referred to the City of Minneapolis, which oversees odor complaints. Two complaints were stormwater-related and addressed by Smith Foundry. The MPCA addressed a complaint regarding black smoke during a Nov. 6, 2023, inspection.
- May 2023: U.S. EPA inspected Smith Foundry and discovered potential Clean Air Act violations from the foundry’s operations.
- August 2023: The EPA issued a notice of violations to Smith Foundry. MPCA continues to work closely with the federal agency on its investigation.
- November 2023: The MPCA completed an unannounced inspection and found all pollution control equipment operating. The agency shared additional information gathered with the EPA to include in the federal investigation.
- April 2024: Smith Foundry submitted to the MPCA an emissions monitoring plan and an updated application for a renewed air permit that included a cumulative levels and effects analysis. The MPCA determined that information was missing from the cumulative levels and effects analysis.
- May 2024: Smith Foundry withdrew its application for an updated air permit to continue operating as a metal foundry.
- June 2024: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Smith Foundry will end its furnace and casting operations within a year, immediately shut down portions of its operations, and pay an $80,000 civil penalty for allegedly releasing air pollution at levels that exceed regulations. The company would be allowed to continue operations as a metal finishing facility, which would generate significantly less amounts of hazardous air pollutants.
- July 2024: Smith Foundry notified the MPCA it will cease all manufacturing and production operations at the facility in East Phillips in August.