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Air polluters would get more scrutiny under bill

Companies that pollute could come under more scrutiny.

HF3058 would require the Pollution Control Agency to analyze the cumulative level of past and current environmental pollution from all sources on the geographic area in which the permitted facility’s emissions are likely to be deposited before issuing an air quality permit to a facility in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Currently, the agency is statutorily required to do this only for a facility in south Minneapolis.

The bill would also create a community liaison to work with residents affected by air emissions from the facilities. The cost would be covered by air quality permit fees paid by permitted facilities.

Sponsored by Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Mpls), the bill was held over for future consideration Tuesday by the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division. The companion, SF3433, is sponsored by Sen. Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Mpls) and awaits action by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee.

Assistant Commissioner Great Gauthier said the Pollution Control Agency agrees with the bill’s goal and has worked with Lee to narrow its scope so it’s more feasible to implement. An amendment adopted by the division would go from affecting 862 permits to about 50.

Nancy Przymus, a member of Environmental Quality of Life who lives in Northeast Minneapolis, cited a public health study showing much more widespread health problems there than in western Hennepin County.

She cited non-expiring permits of 10 large companies in Minnesota, including Northern Metals Recycling, which moved to Becker and where a massive fire recently broke out and burned for days. “We should be looking into that closely,” she said.

“There’s no way we can have a healthy economy without a healthy ecosystem,” said Roxxanne O'Brien, a resident of North Minneapolis. She said her community has a lot of health issues and deals with systemic inequities.

Mike Bennett, a resident of Marshall Terraces Neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis, said on any given day, you can smell pollution from a nearby facility.


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