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The Clean Water Act established the framework for creating water quality standards and continues to help us protect Minnesota's prized lakes and rivers.

MPCA established a network of long-term biological monitoring stations that represent a variety of stream types in their most natural condition.

The MPCA provides funding to local partners to assist with intensive water quality monitoring at approximately 130 long-term river and stream monitoring sites.

This page provides assistance for local units of government with development and implementation of their SSTS program.

The MPCA has important roles in protecting and restoring waters in degraded conditions.

Young Life Castaway Club violated several wastewater regulations, mainly modifying wastewater treatment systems without approval, between 2019 and 2022 at its youth and family camp on Pelican Lake, just south of Detroit Lakes. These violations carry serious risks of harm to the environment.

PFAS are persistent and problematic chemicals that are found throughout the environment and not just in areas where large quantities have been manufactured, disposed of, or spilled. PFAS are…

An air emissions risk analysis estimates the potential human health risks from air pollution emitted by a facility.

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

The MPCA plans to amend water quality standards (Minn. Rules chapter 7050) affecting Class 2 beneficial uses, which protect surface waters for aquatic life and recreation.

The Mississippi River - Lake Pepin Watershed includes 205,747 acres that drain several small, coldwater streams in bedrock-dominated bluff country.

The Upper/Lower Red Lake Watershed covers more than 1.2 million acres and is home to Upper and Lower Red Lakes, the two largest bodies of water within the state.

Excess nitrate remains a long-term challenge to manage. In our lakes, rivers, and streams, it is toxic to fish and other aquatic life. In drinking water, it can pose a risk to human health,…

Some permittees are receiving phishing attacks claiming to be from the EPA. How to spot a phishing attack and what to do about it.

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…

The Buffalo River Watershed covers more than 1,100 square miles in portions of Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, and Wilkin counties, with a small portion of its headwaters in the White Earth Reservation.

Countless bacteria can be found in land, water, humans, and animals. Most bacteria are beneficial, serving as food for larger organisms and playing critical roles in natural processes such as organic…

Thanks to years of restoration efforts, the MPCA confirmed the Kabekona River meets water quality standards for recreation and proposed its removal from the 2026 impaired waters list.

Under the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act, the MPCA wishes to shift the responsibility for paying for collection and recycling of "covered electronic devices" away from the public sector, specifically local government.

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.