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Louisiana-Pacific has been fined $15,775 for stormwater and wetland violations according to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation. Louisiana-Pacific operates a wood-board manufacturing facility in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

The MPCA completed 68 enforcement cases for water quality, air quality, hazardous waste, stormwater, and wastewater violations in the first half of 2025.

Clean Water Fund dollars come from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment that Minnesotans approved in 2008.

Owners/operators of construction activity must complete several steps before completing a permit application and beginning construction. These steps also help owners/operators determine their eligibility for coverage under the general permit.

One of 12 major watersheds of the Minnesota River Basin, the Watonwan River Watershed covers 878 square miles in south-central Minnesota.

The health of Minnesota's large rivers is a reflection of how well we are protecting overall water quality.

Enbridge Energy is continuing restoration work around its new Line 3 crude oil pipeline across Minnesota. The new line replaces an aging Line 3 and began operating in October 2021, after Enbridge completed the project’s construction phase.

Protecting and restoring water quality is one of the MPCA's core areas of focus.

In 2009, a federal court ruled that NPDES permits were required for all biological and chemical pesticide applications that leave a residue in water when applications are made in, over, or near waters of the United States.

Wastewater treatment and disposal are important for protecting and preserving Minnesota's water resources. MPCA regulates wastewater treatment activities in Minnesota.

The MPCA works with city and county governments, watershed districts, consultants, and others on monitoring, protecting, and restoring water quality. This is a repository of guidance and technical resources for agency partners.

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

The MPCA is working to address environmental concerns at the closed Freeway Landfill, to prevent the buried waste from affecting drinking water and the nearby Minnesota River.

A new planning effort in northwest Minnesota takes a basin-wide approach to reducing the state's phosphorous contributions to the Red River, and to Canada's Lake Winnipeg.

This long-term data gathering initiative helps track trends in water bodies around the state. The MPCA is grateful for every volunteer who has dedicated time to monitoring their favorite lake or stream.

When leaves fall on streets, sidewalks, and other hardscapes in urban areas, they wash into the storm drains and end up in lakes and rivers where they feed algae growth. The algae then decomposes and uses up oxygen that fish and native plants need.

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 uses the Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) to store water quality data from more than 17,000 Minnesota sampling locations.

A water quality variance is a temporary change in a state's water quality standard for a specific pollutant and its relevant criteria, allowing deviation from meeting a water quality-based effluent limit for a particular discharger.

BMPs required to manage the slurry to comply with Minnesota statute and agency rules to protect water quality.