PCA ordered to shut N. Mpls air monitors or justify them to court

A judge has ordered the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to shut down two air monitors that bracket property owned by the Northern Metal scrap yard in north Minneapolis or explain by July 27 why not.

Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann issued his order last Thursday in an action brought by Northern Metals, which alleges that it is unfairly being singled out by the agency as it investigates five instances in which an area monitor recorded air particles over the allowable standard.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Why lawmakers want to fundamentally change how the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency does business

If there were a contest to name the least popular state department at this year’s legislative session, there’s little doubt which would win: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Over the years, the agency has often found itself in the middle of passionate disputes between environmental groups and business in its capacity as the state agency charged with setting and enforcing clean air and water standards.

Read more at MinnPost.

Road salt use gets weighed against saving money, environment

Joe’s Lawn and Snow service uses half as much salt as it used to. The University of Minnesota cut its salt use by 41 percent, and the city of Waconia by a whopping 70 percent — all without sacrificing safety for drivers and pedestrians.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

MPCA: Monitoring shows silica sand not a concern in Winona

Frac sand in ambient air does not pose a health concern for Winona residents. The first look Tuesday at eight months’ worth of air monitoring data in downtown Winona showed silica sand was, for the most part, undetectable.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Winona to hold public discussion on frac sand monitoring results

City staff should get an idea next week from the results of more than nine months of monitoring downtown Winona air for ambient frac sand and emissions.

Read more in Winona Daily News.

Frechette serves on silica sand advisory panel

Allen Frechette, Scott County environmental health manager, will serve on a new joint advisory panel that will guide the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as they consider possible rule making for the regulation of silica sand operations in Minnesota, the agencies announced today.

For a complete list of the committee members, go to the Shakopee Valley News.

MPCA offers sand dust, diesel fume monitoring

The ongoing debate over whether the frac sand industry poses a health risk may have a new focal point: the roof of the Winona YMCA. It is that surface that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the city of Winona have selected as the best site for a possible air quality monitoring effort.

State regulators writing new frac sand rules

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and other state agencies are beginning to write new rules for frac sand mining as part of a plan ordered by the Legislature. The special silica sand, abundant in southeast Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin, is a vital piece of the oil drilling process in North Dakota's Bakken fields.

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio.

Two agencies crafting new sand mining rules

Two Minnesota government agencies are in the early stages of developing new environmental rules governing the silica sand mining vital to hydraulic fracturing. The Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency put out requests for comments Monday as they fashion sand mining rules.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

U.S. EPA tells Minnesota to do a better job preventing water pollution

Federal regulators have ordered Minnesota to impose more stringent limits on pollutants discharged into the state's lakes and rivers, an unusual step that could threaten state authority to enforce the nation's clean-water laws.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Pollution Control Agency's stormwater rules roil Minnesota cities

More than 200 Minnesota cities, from tiny Lauderdale to wealthy Rochester, will have to devise ways to keep the rain where it falls as part of a controversial new mandate designed to protect urban streams and lakes from the dirt and pollutants that wash off streets and yards along with the stormwater.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

MPCA updates stormwater manual as a wiki

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency just completed the first update of the stormwater manual in eight years and it's been released in a new format - a Wiki - so the agency can make ongoing updates as needed. A Wiki is a content management platform that makes it easy to search for information and provide feedback. Access the stormwater manual here.

We're pleased to see that the updated manual puts much more emphasis on the use of pervious pavement systems as a stormwater management solution for public and private property owners.

Firm agrees to in-depth study on frac sand in Winona County

A Minnesota frac sand company has volunteered to conduct a full environmental review of its controversial mining project proposed near Winona - a step that reflects pressure from state regulators and could set a precedent in the fast-growing industry.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

In a first, Minnesota asks Winona County to assess risks of frac sand

In a critical test of Minnesota's approach to frac sand mining, two state agencies have called on Winona county to order an in-depth study of environmental and health risks associated with a cluster of proposed mines and processing sites.

Read more in Minneapolis Star Tribune.

MPCA: county must study EIS for frac sand mines

The Winona County Board received data on Tuesday from the state that suggest the county may have to require several proposed frac sand mines and a processing and transportation plant to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Read more in the Winona Post.

Stormwater pond cleanup costs to soar, maybe to $1 billion

Metro cities could be on the hood for $1 billion or more in cleanup costs in coming years as they grapple with contaminated sludge in stormwater ponds that dot the metro area. The main culprit: carcinogenic compounds known as PAHs, which until recently were found in common asphalt sealants used on driveways and parking lots.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

State experts weigh in on industrial sand

Officials representing various state agencies gathered in the Winona Middle School Auditorium on Wednesday night to give a series of frac sand-based presentations to concerned citizens and decision-makers from Winona and surrounding communities.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Industrial sand mining causing regulators to scramble

Finance & Commerce newspaper ran a subscription-only article June 18th about the growing interest in frac sand mining regulation by legislators. The concern is that current environmental permitting laws and regulators are not equipped to handle the rush for frac sand, particularly in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

In the recent legislative session, two legislators proposed amendments to the omnibus environment bill. Rep. Andrew Falk, DFL-Murdock, proposed adding the condition that frac sand companies pay a fee into an account that counties could use to cover reclamation costs. Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, proposed increasing the aggregate tax to pay the cost of public infrastructure improvements needed as a result of frac sand mining. Neither amendment got very far in the 2012 session.

Finally, the article described how the state departments of Health and Transportation, as well as the MPCA are reviewing their processes and permits to see if they're sufficient enough for the fast-growing frac sand mining.

ARM is monitoring this issue very closely and we'll keep you informed when there are new developments, particularly regarding state regulations.  - Fred Corrigan

John Linc Stine named director of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

The new commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is John Linc Stine, who had been named acting commissioner last week after Commissioner Paul Aasen announced he was resigning to become Minneapolis city coordinator.

Read more in MinnPost.

Regulation -- like chasing the wind with a net

With the economic troubles that began in 2007, and especially now with a national political campaign underway, there is an intense focus on wrongdoing. Every newspaper, it seems, now has an editor in charge of exposing wrongdoing. There is a visible desire to punish wrongdoers. A desire to stop wrongdoing.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription may be required).