Minneapolis, MN

Two environmental agencies at odds over pollution violations in East Phillips neighborhood

Published

1 year ago

November 22, 2023

Two environmental agencies at odds over pollution violations in East Phillips neighborhood

MINNEAPOLIS — Two environmental agencies are at odds over pollution violations in a Twin Cities neighborhood. The EPA found that Smith Foundry in south Minneapolis violated the Clean Air Act.

But the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency questions its methods.

Neighbors say they’ve raised health concerns about the factory for years. WCCO investigative reporter Jennifer Mayerle went to the MPCA to try and get answers.

Smith Foundry is the source of community outrage following an unannounced inspection by the Environmental Protection Agency. It discovered air pollution violations along with other problems that “could endanger human health or the environment.”

MORE: Neighbors near Minneapolis’ Smith Foundry wonder why EPA’s pollution discovery wasn’t made by MPCA

WCCO took the concerns to the MPCA and assistant commissioner over air and climate policy Frank Kohlasch.

“They are required to meet and comply with their permit requirements and in Minnesota rules to ensure that their emissions are not causing any problems for neighborhoods or for the environment around,” Kohlasch said.

Mayerle asked if that’s been happening.

“To the information we have, to the best of our knowledge, it has been happening. We have been monitoring in the East Phillips neighborhood for a number of years.” Kohlash went on to say, “We are not seeing any state or federal violation on an air quality standard from this facility,” Kohlasch said.

Smith Foundry in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood

WCCO

The state says it’s monitored air quality from 11 blocks away since 2001. We’re told it’s conducted other air monitoring at various times since then. But its last actual regular inspection was five years ago.

“It seems concerning to me that you wouldn’t have done an inspection since 2018. That’s a lot of years,” Mayerle said.

“We do have limited inspection resources available to us. We negotiate with EPA about how we’re going to deploy those inspection resources,” Kohlasch said.

There are 8 inspectors for 2000 plus permitted companies. It raises questions about the frequency of inspections and if the state is asking for enough information to find a problem.

The state relies on self-reporting.

The MPCA says the EPA requested additional data for their report. Finding since 2018, Smith Foundry was emitting roughly twice the allowed amount of particulate pollution.

The EPA says that can cause things like coughing, difficulty breathing, asthma, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeats, nonfatal heart attacks and more.

The EPA and MPCA knew about the notice of violations months before the community learned about them.

Mayerle asked why there aren’t more answers right now.

“That’s a great question. And we know it’s a challenging situation to be in,” Kohlasch said.

Kohlasch says the information generally stays confidential until the company has a chance to respond. And there are more definitive answers.

“It honestly feels like more leeway is being given to the company than the community. That the company has all the time to go back and forth but the community is left in the dark during that time,” Mayerle said.

“That is a challenge with the system. That is the way the system is set up,” Kohlasch responded.

“That’s why I’m asking, should the system change?” Mayerle said.

“That is a great question. I think it’s beyond my ability to respond now,” Kohlasch said.

The looming question: What was the East Phillips community exposed to and for how long?

Ultimately Kohlasch says MPCA is not able to replicate the emission violations found by the EPA.

“We would be concerned if somebody is emitting more pollution than is allowed in their permit. That would be concerning to us. Right now we just can’t validate what EPA has in their notice,” Kohlasch said.

The EPA told WCCO it stands by its report and will keep working with the state and Smith Foundry.

The MPCA says the factory’s new permit will be stricter, requiring new controls, an expiring permit, and an annual community meeting.

Neighbors have also raised concerns about the asphalt company next door, Bituminous Roadways.

The state says it will leave the area by the end of 2025.

Bituminous told WCCO that mounting city and community pressure coupled with upcoming regulatory requirements coinciding with Smith Foundry’s new permit made it the right time to look for a new location.

You can learn more at a community meeting on Monday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Phillips Community Center.

The EPA and representatives from Smith Foundry are also expected to be there.

Here’s the EPA’s full statement:

“At this time, EPA believes that the emissions and allowable rates shown in its notice of violation are correct, and does not have any reason to modify the information in the notice. We will continue to talk with MPCA and Smith Foundry to understand their positions. Regarding the statement in EPA’s notice of violation that ambient air concentrations of particulate matter were “elevated,” this is in the context of Smith Foundry allowing “avoidable amounts of particulate matter to become airborne.” EPA stated that measured concentrations were above background concentrations, showing that the site had caused particulate to become airborne.
“Consistent with EPA’s enforcement policy, we cannot provide specific information on any ongoing investigations in Minnesota including how EPA selects facilities to inspect, the process leading up to the inspection, or next steps in the investigation. EPA maintains collaborative partnerships with state agencies and will continue to work with MPCA on next steps.”

Jennifer Mayerle

Jennifer Mayerle happily returned to Minnesota and WCCO, where she began her career as an intern. The Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist joined WCCO as a reporter in May 2014. She also anchors “WCCO Saturday Morning” from 8-9 a.m.

Source link

Click to comment

Minneapolis, MN

Fate of Minneapolis federal consent decree uncertain amid a Trump presidency

Published

6 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Fate of Minneapolis federal consent decree uncertain amid a Trump presidency

Fate of Federal Consent Decree up in the air with incoming Trump presidency

A major part of reforms for the Minneapolis Police Department may never come to be.

That part is the federal consent decree — which the city is still negotiating with the Department of Justice — given President-Elect Donald Trump’s track record surrounding this kind of action.

“When President Trump came in, he shut the whole thing down,” Emily Gunston, a former deputy chief with the DOJ about the pending consent decree with the city of Chicago she was working on when Trump began his first term.

“I think folks should expect that that’s exactly what President Trump will do in a second term, with regard to Minneapolis,” Gunston added.

In her more than twenty years working in the area of police practices, Gunston says she spent 9 years in the DOJ, mostly under President Barrack Obama’s administration, investigating and negotiating several consent decrees.

Following the murder of George Floyd, DOJ investigators said the MPD and the City of Minneapolis engaged in a, “pattern or practice of conduct in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”

Now months in the making, the city has been negotiating with the DOJ to finalize a federal consent decree.

“Because a court is not yet involved. President Trump, the Trump administration and new attorney general could just decide that this is not a case that they are pursuing,” Gunston added.

In a statement, Minneapolis attorney Kristyn Anderson shared the following.

City leadership has and will continue to prioritize negotiations with the Department of Justice and work toward a federal consent decree. Our commitment to reforming policing in Minneapolis and building a more just approach will not change based on who is in the White House.

Through the Settlement Agreement with the Minnesota Human Rights Department – which is modeled on a federal consent decree – as well as new initiatives led by the Office of Community Safety and Minneapolis Police Department, the City is moving with urgency to strengthen community trust and community safety in Minneapolis.

As mentioned in Anderson’s statement, the city and police department are already in the process of reform through the court enforceable settlement agreement with the state’s Human Rights Department.

Through its separate investigation, state investigators found, “race discrimination in violation of Minnesota Human Rights Act” — a spokesperson with the department sent the following.

The state consent decree between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department is here to stay regardless of what happens at the federal level.

The agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights provides the framework for lawful, non-discriminatory policing, reduces unnecessary dangers for officers, and results in better public safety for Minneapolis.

Still, the federal findings go beyond that of the state, given the DOJ enforces federal law — their findings also highlight that MPD violated people’s First Amendment and discriminated against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for service.

“The findings that the Department of Justice made, it could be that they had additional evidence on some areas of the law, that perhaps the state investigators weren’t able to acquire that evidence, or didn’t make those same findings,” Gunston said.

She added that if the federal consent decree were not to take effect, the reform may not go as far.

MPD Chief Brian O’Hara also shared a statement.

Regardless of what happens with the DOJ consent decree, we do have a consent decree in place in state court that addresses all of the major topics covered in previous federal consent decrees: use of force, stop search and arrest, implicit bias, supervision and training.

We are making tremendous progress enhancing trust with our communities as we rebuild the MPD to be the standard for policing in America.

The city is set to spend more than $15 million to manage both the state and federal oversight, with another $13 million set for next year.

Source link

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis City Council introduces ordinance to combat homeless encampments

Published

17 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Minneapolis City Council introduces ordinance to combat homeless encampments

Minneapolis city council members have introduced ordinances to try and combat homeless encampments across the city.

They’re looking at cities like Denver, Colo., and Duluth, Minn., to get ideas on how to effectively combat homelessness in the city.

It’s an ongoing cycle in Minneapolis: a homeless encampment pops up, the city clears it and then another one emerges close by.

Minneapolis city council members are hoping to stop that pattern with a new effort.

“We want to pilot these to make sure they work correctly,” Jason Chavez, Minneapolis city council member, said.

Council members Chavez, Aurin Chowdhury and Aisha Chughtai are introducing Safe Outdoor Spaces and Safe Parking Spaces to provide a consistent place for those living in homelessness.

Chavez explained at the Nov. 14 full council meeting that the safe outdoor spaces could be tiny homes, structured pods or tents and parking lots where the homeless community could legally park overnight.

“There’s safe parking like in Duluth, which is seasonal, where someone can park their car overnight and get services and meals from a provider,” Chavez said.

The location of these spaces would be city-owned or on non-profit land, if they want to help.

Crabtree said a solution is long overdue, but this could help.

“I think that it is definitely a piece of the continuum of care that we need to be providing in our city,” Crabtree said. “I think that would be a great step. It’s certainly not everything, but it’s something.”

Crabtree explained affordable housing is the permanent solution, but what’s available now is still not affordable for everyone.

The next step is to officially draft ordinances related to these efforts.

Source link

Minneapolis, MN

MN weather: Snow totals from Wednesday

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A blast of wintry weather Wednesday dumped an inch or less of snow across the Twin Cities metro.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport saw about 0.75 inches of snow, with some areas seeing slightly more where it snowed for most of the day. Meanwhile, western Minnesota saw 1–4 inches, with higher snow totals closer to North Dakota.

Snow totals from Wednesday’s storm

Snow at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on Nov. 20, 2024. (FOX 9)

Here’s a look at snow totals across the state from Wednesday’s snow:

Moorhead: 3.8 inches
Grand Forks, North Dakota: 3 inches
Warren: 2 inches
Kimball: 2 inches
St. Cloud: 1.9 inches
Waseca: 1.5 inches
Maple Plain: 1.5 inches
Chanhassen: 1.3 inches
Watertown: 1 inch
MSP Airport: 0.75 inches
White Bear Lake: 0.5 inches

Note: This story will be updated as snow totals are confirmed.

Snow led to slick roads Wednesday, Thursday morning

WEATHER FORECAST: Gray, windy and dry on Thursday

Roads remain slick following Wednesday’s snow

FOX 9’s Bill Keller is monitoring slick road conditions Thursday morning, following overnight freezing temperatures and snowfall from Wednesday.

The snow started in the Twin Cities before sunrise on Wednesday when air temperatures started to dip below freezing, but the roads were in pretty good shape until the evening commute.

This is because the freeze/thaw cycle for soil is delayed by air temperature. It takes a while for the ground to catch up to colder air temperatures, especially during daylight.

Multi-vehicle crash in Burnsville: Traffic cameras

MnDOT traffic cameras captured a multi-vehicle crash in Burnsville around midnight on the Interstate 35W bridge over the Minnesota River. The driver of an SUV had already spun out when two other drivers lost control and spun across the ice, before they all collided.

Well, after several plus hours of sub-freezing air temperatures on Wednesday, the ground started to freeze. Add a snowy burst for a few hours around and over the evening commute as that is occurring, and that spells accumulating snow on our roadways and some slippery conditions.

MN weather: Gray and windy day Thursday

Temperatures return to above freezing in the Twin Cities metro on Thursday, though it will be rather windy with gusts topping out at 40 mph. FOX 9 meteorologist Cody Matz has your forecast.

Source link