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MPCA honors environmental leader who restored her shoreline while educating her community

Kathy Wagner, recipient of the 2025 Community Conservationist Award from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD), discusses her personal conservation work and local environmental advocacy.

Air permitting: Guide for residents

Any facility that emits air pollutants above certain levels is required to have an air quality permit.

As Minnesota prepares for a cold, snowy winter, MPCA urges smart salting practices

Salt is commonly over-applied, sending too much chloride into our waterways and wreaking havoc on fish and other wildlife.

School waste reduction

Image In Minnesota, 2,469 schools serve more than 898,000 K-12 students and employ thousands of teachers and staff. An MPCA study found that Minnesota…

Revitri’s tiny recycled glass beads may be key to more efficient cars and houses

Willernie-based Revitri won the MPCA’s Green and Sustainable Chemistry Prize for its innovative manufactured glass beads

Minnesota GreenCorps makes waste reduction a priority in Edina

Minnesota GreenCorps member Heidi Blum focused on waste reduction and recycling in Edina, Minnesota.

Johnson’s Rolling Acres: Farming practices that protect water and preserve a family legacy

Smart technology, conservation practices, and a commitment to clean water help this family dairy and crop operation thrive — while protecting rivers, streams, and future generations.

Ask the MPCA: Exhausted by idling vehicles

Ask the MPCA features questions Minnesotans have asked us, on the issues the agency works on, from waste disposal, water and air quality, and chemicals in products to recycling and reuse,…

Green Chemistry Prize winner, Naware, swaps herbicides for steam and AI

Edina-based startup, Naware, recently took the $10,000 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Prize, sponsored by the MPCA as part of the MN Cup, for combining two unlikely technologies to replace herbicides in lawncare with a more environmentally friendly alternative.

From the cab of a tractor, a long view on farm sustainability

For National Farmers Day, a profile of pork and crop farmer Randy Spronk of Edgerton, Minnesota, and his sustainable ag practices.

Discharge monitoring reports

Permits for wastewater treatment require monthly, quarterly, or annual reporting of discharge monitoring results

Smart Salting training

Smart Salting is a suite of techniques that minimize the environmental and economic impacts of chloride while still meeting public needs.

Improving our permitting processes

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, transparency, certainty, and customer service, the MPCA is improving the way we track and administer permits. These efforts are part of periodical…

To study how PFAS moves in the air, MPCA turns to pine needles

Volunteers across Minnesota’s 87 counties have been collecting pine needles from coniferous trees in their neighborhoods to help the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency better understand how to protect Minnesotans from PFAS pollution.

Ahead-of-her-time Battle Creek researcher returns as water monitor

Profile of Julia Dady, a volunteer water monitor for Battle Creek in Saint Paul.

Farmers are getting down to earth about soil health

With all the talk about health these days, consider the health of the soil beneath your feet. Farmers in western Minnesota are doing just that, teaming up to improve soil health.

Wood from the Hood turns downed trees into something good

“Urban wood,” or wood salvaged from cities, suburbs, and towns, is a growing issue in Minnesota because of severe weather, urban expansion, and the emerald ash borer. Rather than burning the trees as waste, a preferred option for dealing with urban wood involves creating durable wood products like furniture, building materials, and wooden décor.