Search
The Mississippi River - Twin Cities Watershed is 656,990 acres and lies almost entirely in the North Central Hardwoods Forest ecoregion in the Mississippi River Basin. The watershed contains 1,320 stream miles and 380 lakes. More than 1.8 million people live in this watershed.
The MPCA is authorized to develop numeric water quality criteria that apply specifically to a water body or region where the pollutant is found, using data from that water body or region.
The MPCA offers environmental audits to help businesses and organizations examine how well they are complying with environmental regulations, and correct any problems that are identified.
Al-Corn Clean Fuel, LLC, an ethanol plant in Dodge County, paid $40,427 in fines for air permit violations.
MPCA investigation found stormwater permit violations that occurred during a construction project in 2025, with sediment-laden stormwater entering a stream at a construction site in Chaska.
Inadequate stormwater protections at a Saint Paul project have netted fines for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and Bituminous Roadways.
BALMM emphasizes land use practices to improve or protect water quality, particularly in the areas of watershed management, aquifer protection and floodplain management.
The health of Minnesota's large rivers is a reflection of how well we are protecting overall water quality.
Initiatives passed during the 2023 legislative session invest hundreds of millions of dollars to advance Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework.
The We Are Water MN exhibit in Duluth's Hartley Nature Center runs from February 29 through April 22.
U.S. Steel Corp. operates a taconite mine and processing plant known as Keetac north of Keewatin, where it produces taconite pellets for use at iron and steel mills.
MPCA established a network of long-term biological monitoring stations that represent a variety of stream types in their most natural condition.
One of the most basic forms of air pollution, haze reduces visibility in many cities and scenic areas within the United States. Haze-causing pollutants come from a variety of sources, both natural and man-made, including motor vehicles, electricity generation, industrial facilities, agriculture, and wildfires.
Chloride is a problem for wastewater facilities and stormwater permittees.
Ely Community Resources was recognized for it programs that engage young people in natural resource education and conservation.
Volunteer water monitors collect valuable data used by agencies and organizations across the state to protect and manage Minnesota’s waters.
The MPCA is currently recruiting volunteers to measure water clarity in numerous lakes and streams across the state and then report the data back to the agency.
Located in south-central Minnesota, the Le Sueur River flows 111 miles through a gently rolling landscape, most of it farmland, until it cuts down through high bluffs to the Blue Earth River.
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.
The Air We Breathe report looks at public health and air quality data to gauge how air pollution is affecting our health in Minnesota.