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Addressing excess nutrient levels in Lake Pepin based on the site-specific water quality eutrophication criteria for the lake developed by the MPCA.
Community wastewater treatment facilities and their operators play a critical role in maintaining a health community and preserving and protecting our waters.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)’s draft wastewater permit for the 3M facility at Cottage Grove adds new water quality protections for the Mississippi River and improves accountability through monitoring and reporting requirements. The draft permit is one of the most rigorous in state history and mandates the removal of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to levels below detection.
Minnesota passed a law in 2023 that restricts the use of lead and cadmium in 15 categories of consumer products, including toys and school supplies.
An index of biological integrity (IBI) is a particularly powerful tool that provides an accurate measure of the condition of the biological communities and are a direct determinant of the attainment of aquatic life uses.
The MPCA's regulatory, cleanup, and monitoring programs create and maintain spatial data that serve our environmental protection work and can be shared with partners and researchers.
The Cloquet River Watershed covers approximately 507,858 acres (794 square miles) and is located within portions of Lake and St. Louis Counties in northeastern Minnesota.
Surface water assessment grants (SWAG) provide local organizations and citizen volunteers with funds to complete the monitoring needed to meet assessment requirements on Minnesota lakes and streams. Assessment is usually the first step in protecting or restoring surface waters.
The MPCA’s Smart Salting program helps cut down on chloride pollution by training snowplow drivers and municipalities to use less salt on the roadways.
Online tool showing Minnesota waters failing to meet one or more water quality standards.
The Shell Rock River begins at Albert Lea Lake in Freeborn County in south-central Minnesota, a few miles from the Iowa border. It flows 113 miles into Iowa, where it enters the Cedar River. In Minnesota, the Shell Rock drains 246 square miles (160,000 acres), all in Freeborn County.
The Blue Earth River begins in northern Iowa and meets with the West Branch Blue Earth River in Faribault County. The watershed includes parts of eight counties in southern Minnesota and four in northern Iowa.
Volunteer-collected data are regularly used in decision-making and conservation efforts. Find a program that excites you and join in.
Minnesota’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dropped by 14% between 2005 and 2022, according to a biennial report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Commerce
“Area C” is the name given to Ford Motor Company’s former industrial waste dump on the floodplain of the Mississippi River, at the base of the bluff below the former Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Saint Paul.
401 Certification process for applying Minnesota water quality standards to federal permitting actions.
The Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) is a partnership that collects data on water quality and flow in Minnesota.
One of 12 major watersheds of the Minnesota River Basin, the Watonwan River Watershed covers 878 square miles in south-central Minnesota.
The MPCA and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today released a drinking water supply plan for the 14 communities impacted by 3M’s PFAS contamination in the East Metro.
Loans are available to defray the capital costs of installing waste or pollution prevention machinery or equipment.