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In Minnesota, handlers of oil and hazardous substances are required to prepare for potential spills and take steps to prevent them.
News releases and featured stories from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
A successful cleanup of contaminated land along the Cedar River in Austin caps a long history of industrial pollution.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate.
The MPCA added three sites to the state’s priority list of contaminated sites that need further investigation and cleanup under Minnesota’s Superfund law.
Fire departments are often the first responders to incidents that include spills of hazardous substance.
The National Crude Oil Spill Research Site near Bemidji was formed after a pipeline break released 10,000 barrels of crude oil in 1979.
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.
BNSF Railway Company paid a fine of $20,000 for industrial stormwater and wastewater permit violations at its Willmar facility.
Abdirahman Hassan Abdirahman Hassan’s story begins in Mombasa, Kenya, a coastal city where the presence of the Indian Ocean was a childhood highlight. “I grew up…
The MPCA's regulatory, cleanup, and monitoring programs create and maintain spatial data that serve our environmental protection work and can be shared with partners and researchers.
After many years of investigation, design work and construction, the Great Lakes Legacy Act remediation projects at these sites near Duluth, Minnesota, are complete.
MPCA staff studied the river during this summer's extreme drought conditions to see if tighter limits on phosphorus are protecting aquatic life.
The MPCA offers other types of funding for use by specialists or with more involved eligibility requirements. Funding for site cleanup: Supports the clean up of contaminated properties SSTS…
MPCA staff toured three farms in southeastern Minnesota. The purpose of external communications is to show that the agency cares about education and outreach, and we get out in the field to learn on site.
The MPCA will analyze varying background sulfate levels across Minnesota, which could inform our implementation of the wild rice sulfate water quality standard.
This feature summarizes findings from four WRAPS reports in 2024: Root River, Mississippi River-St. Cloud, Pomme de Terre River, and Mississippi River-Lake Pepin Tributaries.
Ask the MPCA features questions Minnesotans have asked us, on the issues the agency works on, from waste disposal, water and air quality, and chemicals in products to recycling and reuse,…
Francesca Crego, or Frannie, fondly recalls bike rides along the Mississippi River’s edge with her family. Growing up in the city, Frannie appreciated the feeling of mysticality brought by the river’…
What is a stormwater catch basin, and should I be worried about it?