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While hundreds of fish kills occur in Minnesota every year, mostly in lakes and ponds, fish kills on trout streams in southeast Minnesota are much less common.

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) today took another step forward in addressing nitrate pollution statewide by issuing updated water permits for about 1,000 large feedlot operations. These permits take effect when the current ones expire.

Environmental information and permits that affect businesses that paint, coat, or strip surfaces.

The MPCA regulates the design, construction, and operation of treatment facilities for municipal and industrial wastewater in Minnesota.

The MPCA completed 78 enforcement cases for water quality, air quality, waste, stormwater, and wastewater violations in the second half of 2025, for a total of 146 for the year.

If you're new to the septic system world at the county level, or even if you've been in the job for a while, MPCA offers videos and companion documents to provide valuable background and insights.

The MPCA regulates waste, recycling, and disposal activities in Minnesota. MPCA permits are required for the design, construction, and operation of solid waste management facilities where storage, collection, transportation, processing or reuse, conversion, or disposal of solid waste occurs.

Biosolids that will be applied to land must meet strict regulations and quality standards.

MPCA's recommended review criteria for wastewater treatment facilities that need to perform system maintenance that requires approval to bypass untreated or partially treated domestic wastewater.

The Lake Superior - South Watershed covers 402,371 acres.

The StormReady designation recognizes the MPCA’s commitment to emergency management planning and continuity of operations during an emergency.

Recycling is good for Minnesota's economy. It supports more than 60,000 jobs in our state, paying almost $3.4 billion in wages and adds nearly $15.7 billion to Minnesota's economy.

3M will use an advanced wastewater treatment system to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from its Chemical Operations facility in Cottage Grove.

Vapor intrusion occurs when chemical vapors migrate from contaminated groundwater through the soil into the basements or foundations of buildings.

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.

Water softeners produce much of the chloride that pollutes Minnesota’s waters. An MPCA grant aims to reduce that pollution with water softener replacement rebate programs.

The MPCA proposes adding 46 new impaired bodies of water and removing 45 impairments from bodies of water from the IWL, the most removals in a two-year cycle since the state began the IWL program in 1992.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) sample and test fish in bodies of water where known pollution issues may be a concern for human health through fish consumption.

Nitrogen, like phosphorus, is a nutrient that pollutes in state waters, and its concentration in many rivers has been increasing from historic natural levels over time due to human influences.…