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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.
This watershed is located in the southeastern tip of Minnesota, known for its scenic bluffs. More than 900,000 acres drain to the Mississippi River at Reno, Minn., but only 117,000 of those acres are in Minnesota.
Complaints of discrimination will be investigated
The National Crude Oil Spill Research Site near Bemidji was formed after a pipeline break released 10,000 barrels of crude oil in 1979.
Join our team! Open positions and general opportunities at the Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota’s Continuous Nitrate Sensor Network generates publicly available water quality data on nitrate levels in our surface water.
Image Although Minnesota is rich in lakes and streams, Lake Superior is easily the most spectacular waterbody in Minnesota. Despite its immense size…
U.S. Steel Corp. operates the Minntac Taconite processing facility near the city of Mountain Iron, where it produces taconite pellets that are shipped for use at steel mills. U.S. Steel has applied for a reissued air permit so it can replace existing emissions controls in its pellet plant with cartridge filters.
MPCA is planning new rules governing how the MPCA determines currently unavoidable uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in products.
New rules establish a program for the MPCA to collect information about products containing intentionally added PFAS and establish fees to be paid upon submission of required reporting.
MPCA staff studied the river during this summer's extreme drought conditions to see if tighter limits on phosphorus are protecting aquatic life.
Four watershed scientists had an article published in LakeLine magazine. They report on 20 years of success getting lakes cleaned up.
Whether they are called sloughs, swamps, bogs, or potholes, these are all wetlands and they provide many environmental benefits and contribute to watershed health. Though Minnesota has lost almost half of its wetland acreage over time, the quality of the remaining wetlands is good overall.
We Are Water next visits Ortonville and the Big Stone Lake area March 15 through April 21.
The Mississippi River - Headwaters Watershed consists of 1.26 million acres (1,961 square miles) and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca in Itasca State Park. The watershed includes parts of Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard and Itasca counties.
Elevated levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) are present in soil, soil vapor, and groundwater around this site in New Hope.
The St. Louis River Mercury TMDL will determine mercury reductions needed for lakes and rivers in the St. Louis River watershed.
Elevated levels of tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene have been found in soil vapor around this site in St. Paul.
Testing found elevated levels of tetrachloroethylene/perchloroethylene (PCE or Perc) in soil vapors around the Dison’s Cleaners and Launderers site in Rochester.
Some pollutants attach to suspended particles in the water and subsequently settle out to the bottom sediment. At elevated concentrations, contaminated sediments can contribute to fish…