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The Upper/Lower Red Lake Watershed covers more than 1.2 million acres and is home to Upper and Lower Red Lakes, the two largest bodies of water within the state.

Learn what a brownfield is, how it can negatively affect communities, and resources for cleaning one up.

How to prepare recycling for the curb

The Big Fork River Watershed covers more than 1.3 million acres that include some of the state’s most pristine wilderness. The river flows north 165 miles from Dora Lake (45 miles northeast of Bemidji in north-central Itasca County) to the Rainy River, which forms the Minnesota-Canada border.

The 2025 MPCA annual report on Brownfields celebrated numerous major achievements cleaning up and rehabilitating polluted properties.

The MPCA is collaborating with many federal, Tribal, state, and local partners to clean up contaminated sites in the Duluth harbor and St. Louis River.

James Wooton puts his scuba diving skills to work monitoring for aquatic invasive species in Otter Tail County lakes.

The Rainy River - Rainy Lake Watershed covers 583,791 acres. Open water makes up 75,815 of those acres and wetlands occupy another 84,851 acres. The watershed is 64% in St. Louis County and 36% in Koochiching County. The northern boundary is part of the international border waters with Ontario, Canada.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of human-made chemicals that do not break down over time. PFAS are sometimes called “forever chemicals” due to their extreme…

Systems to treat drinking water have been installed to address groundwater contamination in two St. Louis Park and three Edina municipal wells.

Answers to common questions about the Construction Stormwater Permit application

Tools to help small businesses determine if they need an air emissions permit and/or track compliance with their current air emissions permit.

The Red River of the North - Marsh River Watershed is part of the Red River Basin in northwestern Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota.

Less than three years after Minnesota passed the country's first ban on TCE, a carcinogenic solvent, facilities around the state have removed it from their processes.

The Snake River begins its 50-mile course in Marshall County and drains an area of 611,800 acres. The Snake River Watershed lies within Marshall, Polk, and Pennington Counties in NW Minnesota.

The TMDL is based on 62 impairments for turbidity and total suspended solids along the Minnesota River and its tributaries and in the Greater Blue Earth River basin.

Each year, MPCA hires seasonal positions to assist with biological monitoring of streams and wetlands during the summer months.

Implementing water quality standards come with tangible costs and benefits. Costs such as taxes to residents, regulated parties, and communities help achieve benefits such as increased property values, tourism, and protecting human health.

Financial assistance for assessment and clean up of contaminated sites in Minnesota.

MPCA's compliance and enforcement program tracks how well wastewater treatment facilities are complying with their permits and takes enforcement actions when necessary.