Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

After a legal settlement announced Oct. 28, 2026, the proposed Pine Island data center must go through an environmental assessment worksheet with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is surveying people's fish-eating habits to help limit contaminants in water bodies and make fish safer to eat.

The state's Pollution Control Agency says United Taconite did not perform the regular emissions tests required by its air permit.

Periods of reduced air quality due to wildfire smoke are expected for the rest of the warm season as fires continue to burn in Northern Minnesota and Canada.

Forty-six lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands were added, including Big Stony Lake near Park Rapids, Emily Lake in Crow Wing County and Birch Lake in Hackensack.

The group works to inform the PCA on environmental justice issues. Applications are due July 22, 2026.

A 2025 inspection found the company failed to maintain equipment that monitored and reduced air pollution.

The Hibbing Gas Manufacturing Plant was torn down in 1980, but the industrial processes of the past left contamination in the soil, groundwater and nearby surface water.

Individual grants will range from $1,500 to $150,000. Eligible applicants include farmers and livestock producers and organizations that train or support farmers.

MPCA meteorologists are predicting an active air quality season for 2026, comparable to 2024. A strong El Niño cycle is expected to bring warmer and drier conditions.