The MPCA stands up for businesses against the communities they harm, rather than regulating pollution.

GAF is a shingle and waterproofing manufacturer located in north Minneapolis. The neighborhoods near the factory smells of tar, and studies have found the closer you live to the factory, the higher your risk of dying of cancer and asthma are - up to 6 times baseline by the plant, and still 3 times baseline across the river from the plant. Communities want the plant gone. What does MPCA do about GAF? They publish an article complimenting GAF for reducing emissions, despite continued issues with emissions and smell.

A north Minneapolis site that the MPCA has nothing to say about is the HERC garbage burner. Constructed near a densely populated Black community in an act of blatant environmental racism, the HERC has been poisoning parts of downtown and north Minneapolis ever since it opened. I guess the MPCA thinks that if you don’t have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all.

Between these sites was Northern Metals, a metal recycling facility that repeatedly had uncontrolled fires that released toxins into the community. After years of community demands and inaction by Northern Metals, the MPCA finally stepped in, but their negotiations did not require reparations to the affected community, nor did it take action to prevent similar pollution at a rural site operated by Northern Metals.

The crowning achievement of the MPCA’s environmental policy in the Twin Cities must be Smith Foundry. Located in a south Minneapolis neighborhood with a large Indigenous population, Smith has been polluting the neighborhood for a century. The community has been calling out the abnormal rate of lung and heart issues for decades. Laws have been passed to address the pollution in the area around Smith. The MPCA has taken no action, not even doing an internal inspection of the site.

The EPA did a surprise audit of the foundry, and found that the air cleaning equipment was essentially non-functional. Director Kessler of the MPCA seized this moment of opportunity - to imply the EPA is wrong or lying. Director Kessler said:

"The data that we have ... show that there is not a violation of the permit, there is not an exceedance of the air standards in that neighborhood"

Nevermind the unfiltered fumes the foundry was releasing directly into the neighborhood. Nevermind that the permit on Smith Foundry is out of date and expired because the MPCA refused to put effort into holding Smith accountable. The evidence found by the EPA indicates that Smith was in violation of their previous permit - invalidating the MPCA’s perpetual excuse for inaction.

You practically cannot find a posting by MPCA or director Kessler, without statements about “protecting the environment and business”. Here’s one about Kessler from the MPCA website:

“...implementing innovative solutions at both the state and municipal level that are good for the environment and good for business”

Business has demonstrated no willingness to do the reasonable and responsible thing relative to the environment. If you were facing criminal charges, you wouldn’t want a lawyer who “did what’s good for the prosecution and the defense”. You’d want someone who would do their damned job and protect you. We need regulatory agencies that protect our communities and their futures - not treat polluters as their buddies.

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