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Superfund requires specific investigation and cleanup processes, designates parties that are legally responsible for the cleanup, and provides funds for certain types of cleanups under Minnesota’s Environmental Response and Liability Act (MERLA).
Recycling is good for Minnesota's economy. It supports more than 60,000 jobs in our state, paying almost $3.4 billion in wages and adds nearly $15.7 billion to Minnesota's economy.
Minnesota is a national leader in keeping mercury out of the environment.
Certain proposed projects — based on their nature, size, location, or other factors — must go through an environmental review before any required permits or approvals are issued.
The Clean Water Act established the framework for creating water quality standards and continues to help us protect Minnesota's prized lakes and rivers.
Join the celebration! We look forward to highlighting Minnesota’s clean water successes and invite you to use our 50th anniversary art and branded graphics.
Young Life Castaway Club violated several wastewater regulations, mainly modifying wastewater treatment systems without approval, between 2019 and 2022 at its youth and family camp on Pelican Lake, just south of Detroit Lakes. These violations carry serious risks of harm to the environment.
Answers to frequently asked questions about compliance and MPCA's enforcement of environmental rules in Minnesota.
Kate Knuth's career in addressing climate change, which took her to the Minnesota Capitol as a state legislator, has now led her to the MPCA as its new climate director.
Construction and demolition projects produce twice the amount of waste of household trash every year. A new MPCA grant aims to reduce that amount by funding innovative building material reuse projects.
The 2025 MPCA annual report on Brownfields celebrated numerous major achievements cleaning up and rehabilitating polluted properties.
Companies penalized for improperly releasing polluted stormwater at Xcel Energy’s St. Paul Service Center construction site on the east side of Saint Paul.
The Lake Allie wastewater treatment facility will pay more than $13,000 in fines and follow a corrective action plan for violating its wastewater permit in Buffalo Lake, Minn.
As part of the PFAS pollution prevention law called Amara’s Law, manufacturers are required to report intentionally added PFAS in products sold in Minnesota and pay a fee. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended the reporting due date to Sept. 15, 2026.
Launched in 2022, the PFAS monitoring plan lays out a path for PFAS monitoring at solid waste, wastewater, and stormwater facilities; hazardous waste landfills; facilities with air emissions; and…
A transport truck released fugitive lime dust that drifted and deposited on area school playground equipment, vehicles, and vegetation near its paper production facility in International Falls, Minn., in October 2023.
Long-term lake management considers the unique environmental, cultural, and biological factors affecting the lake and sets a priority on finding lasting solutions.
In early 2024, Minnesota became the first U.S. state to establish a product stewardship program for boat wrap, which must provide free collection, transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal.
The MPCA is working to address environmental concerns at the closed Freeway Landfill, to prevent the buried waste from affecting drinking water and the nearby Minnesota River.
From January through March 2025, MPCA air monitoring data showed elevated lead levels that exceeded national ambient air quality standards near the facility. An MPCA inspection of Gopher Resource in spring 2025 confirmed that the source of the elevated lead levels was addressed.