Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Archives

MPCA fines Anheuser-Busch for violations at now closed malting plant in Moorhead

May 13, 2025

KVRR Staff,

KFGO file photoST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR-KFGO) – The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has fined Anheuser-Busch resources in Moorhead $323,850 for failing to conduct performance tests and exceeding dust emissions at the now closed barley malting plant along Interstate 94. The MPCA says Busch violated rules and regulations several times. The violations were discovered during a routine, unannounced inspection. Anheuser-Busch opened…

American Crystal Sugar Company fined over exceeding pollution limits at Moorhead facility

October 9, 2024

Alex Bertsch,

MOORHEAD, MINN. (KVRR) – American Crystal Sugar Company is being fined after failing a pollution control test. The company’s Moorhead sugar beet processing facility failed emissions performance stack tests on two boilers in Fall of 2023. The tests showed that permitted limits for filterable particles and particulate matter were exceeded by as much as 226 percent. The Minnesota Pollution Control…

Air quality alert issued for Tuesday

May 15, 2023

Alison Voorhees,

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR/KFGO) — Smoke from wildfires in Alberta and Saskatchewan will likely affect air quality in northern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota on Tuesday. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert. The air quality index is expected to reach the orange or “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category. People with lung disease, including asthma, children…

Enbridge Agrees To Pay $11 Million for Spills and Breaches During Line 3 Work in Minnesota

October 17, 2022

KVRR Staff,

ST. PAUL (KVRR) — Enbridge Energy agrees to pay Minnesota and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa $11 million for spills and breaches caused by its Line 3 pipeline. It also agrees to pay a $1,000 fine after admitting a breach of an aquifer in Clearwater County. Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a misdemeanor count on behalf of…

Those without health conditions still at risk during high air quality alert

"In Fargo, Moorhead and Grand Forks we're forecasting red air quality which is unhealthy for all individuals."

July 14, 2021

Aaron Walling,

NORTH DAKOTA & MINNESOTA (KVRR) — Air conditions are on high alert as wildfires in parts of the U.S and Canada are pushing smoke through the upper Midwest. With several large fires burning across Montana, Wyoming and Canada, officials from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality are warning people on how the hazy and smoky conditions may affect them….

Hundreds of Waterways Added to List of Impaired Waters

About one-third of the waterways are impaired for recreational use.

November 13, 2019

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MINNEAPOLIS–More than half of Minnesota’s lakes, rivers and streams don’t meet state pollution standards. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has added 581 waterways to its list of impaired waters in its biennial report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released Wednesday. The 3,416 waterways represent 56% of the state’s waters. They have a range of problems, including excess mercury, bacteria,…

Leaked Email Raises New Questions About PolyMet Water Permit

The email appears to support accusations by PolyMet's critics that the two agencies suppressed regulators' concerns.

June 19, 2019

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ A leaked email has raised new questions about how state and federal regulators handled a major permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The e-mail asks Environmental Protection Agency officials not to file written comments on the water quality permit during Minnesota’s public comment period, which kept the federal regulators’ multiple criticisms out of…

Two Minnesota Agencies Not Ready For Permits For Proposed Enbridge Pipeline

The proposed pipeline will run from Canada to Superior, Wisconsin through several northern Minnesota counties

June 18, 2019

TJ Nelson,

ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources will not release draft permits for Enbridge Energy’s proposed Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota. They are waiting until a better environmental impact statement is approved, as ordered by the court. Earlier this month, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled the environmental impact statement for…

Groups Working to Remove Phosphorus & Nitrogen from Red River

The report came from the Minnesota Pollution Control Authority

February 26, 2019

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MOORHEAD, Minn. – Dangerous substances are threatening the water quality and wildlife in the Red River. Over the last few years, the levels of the Red River have risen due to more precipitation and drainage. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says this leads to more bacteria and nutrients floating in the water, leading to potential health risks. “We’ve had people who…