The MPCA is making a wealth of photos available to the news media for illustrating environmental stories. They are available via the Flickr site. You do not need to sign in or have an account to access our Flickr photos.
To view images by category/topic, select the Albums menu.
To download an image, click the image you want, click on the down arrow icon on the right side under the photo, and choose the image size.
Photos by region: Images that we know were taken in Greater Minnesota have been tagged by MPCA region.
To view images by region, go to the MPCA Flickr home page and click on the “More” drop down menu at right. Choose “Tags” and then scroll to the regional tag you want (for example, “northwest”) and click on it. You’ll see images from all topic areas that were taken in that region.
You are welcome to use any of the images in the MPCA library; we just ask that you run an attribution with the photo. It can be as simple as – “Photo: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.”
For questions about the photo library, contact Dan Olson.
The MPCA’s year in environmental innovations
St. Paul, Minn.— In 2015, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) came up with a variety of creative approaches to the state’s environmental challenges.
Water quality data supporting leading-edge buffer strip legislation
The MPCA’s “Swimmable, Fishable, Fixable?” report, released in April, offered additional evidence of the impaired water quality in Minnesota’s lakes, rivers, and streams — particularly in southern Minnesota — and what is causing it: agricultural and urban runoff. The report became a critical support to Governor Dayton’s successful buffer-strip legislation, which mandates 50-foot vegetative strips between cropland and streams to protect waters from runoff. Minnesota is one of the first states in the nation to enact legislation to protect water quality with buffer strips. And MPCA’s watershed monitoring, which is funded by the Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment, is increasing our knowledge of the state’s tremendous water resources and how to protect them.
Flexible pollutant-trading provisions for meeting water quality goals
Princeton, Minn., discharges its treated wastewater to the Rum River, a tributary to the Mississippi River upstream of Lake Pepin. Reducing the amount of phosphorus in the river is important for preventing algae growth, but reducing phosphorus in Princeton’s wastewater discharges would involve expensive treatment plant upgrades. So the MPCA worked with the city to create a first-of-its-kind permit provision, allowing Princeton to offset its phosphorus discharges by restoring and maintaining streambanks on the Rum River in five areas. These efforts have reduced the amount of soil released into the river, and the phosphorus that comes with it. The city’s draft permit gives them credit for the reduction that serves as an offset for the phosphorous load discharged from the wastewater facility. The five streambank restoration projects are preventing sediment, containing about 10,700 pounds of phosphorus, from entering the Rum River each year and protecting Lake Pepin, which suffers from excess sediment. MPCA officials hope Princeton’s example will help other Minnesota communities looking to meet low phosphorus discharge limits without modifying wastewater facilities.
Similarly, a pending permit establishes one phosphorous limit for all five wastewater treatment facilities managed by the Metropolitan Council, which can decide which facilities must remove more phosphorus from their discharges. The Met Council can control how it manages its phosphorous treatment to achieve the required reductions. “This approach will maximize our flexibility to meet water quality standards, and in the process will save money that we can use to further improve wastewater treatment, and thus water quality, in the region,” said Leisa Thompson, general manager of Metropolitan Council Environmental Services.
A groundbreaking report on metro-area air quality
Scientists from the MPCA and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) worked together to estimate the impact of air pollution in the Twin Cities metro area on public health. The result was “Life and Breath: How air pollution affects public health in the Twin Cities.” The report’s findings were alarming. Though air quality in Minnesota is generally good, even low and moderate levels of pollution are dangerous to some Twin Cities residents:
- Air pollution contributed to about 2,000 deaths, 400 hospitalizations, and 600 emergency-room visits in the Twin Cities in 2008.
- In 2008, about 6% to 13% of all residents in the Twin Cities metro area who died, and about 2% to 5% who visited the hospital or emergency room for heart and lung problems, did so because fine particles or ground-level ozone made their conditions worse.
- The groups most affected by air pollution are people of color, elderly people, children with uncontrolled asthma, and people living in poverty. Vulnerable populations may experience more health effects because these populations already have higher rates of heart and lung conditions. They experience more hospitalizations, emergency-room visits for asthma, and death related to air pollution.
Creative reuse of dredge material in Duluth’s St. Louis River estuary
This year saw the completion of a three-year pilot project that used 350,000 cubic yards of sediment dredged from the Duluth harbor by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help restore aquatic habitat in the St. Louis River estuary. The dredged material was placed in the river and along the shoreline of the 350-acre 21st Avenue West site, at the base of the Blatnik Bridge in Duluth. The site had been converted from estuary to harbor in the late 1800s. The restoration softened the shoreline and created gentle slopes, to encourage water plants, animals, and bugs that live in sediment and support a better fish habitat. The successful pilot will provide Duluth with a new attraction for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts. In addition, this restoration method can be used to reconstruct aquatic habitats at other sites.
Contact the MPCA to learn more about its innovative approaches to pollution control and reduction.
Amendments to Water Quality Variance Rules – Notice of Hearing
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency published the above notice in the State Register. The notice of hearing is available by visiting the MPCA Public Notice Webpage. The proposed rules and related documents can be viewed Here.
On November 9, 2015, the MPCA published a Dual Notice of Intent to Adopt Rules related to water quality variances. The notice stated that a hearing on the proposed rules will be held on February 4, 2016, if 25 or more persons submit a request for a hearing. To avoid unnecessary procedural delay in USEPA finding the rules approvable, the MPCA now intends to proceed with a hearing, to take place on February 4, 2016, as described in the November 9, 2015, notice.
To access information about a particular rulemaking, visit the Public Rulemaking Docket.
Studies identify water quality problems, remedies for Coon Creek Watershed
St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Coon Creek Watershed District, and local groups are recommending a number of actions to restore and protect water bodies in the Coon Creek Watershed. The watershed is located in Anoka County and includes the cities of Andover, Blaine, Columbus, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Ham Lake, and Spring Lake Park. The Coon Creek Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report and Total Maximum Daily Load report are available for public comment through Jan. 28.
Several streams in the Coon Creek Watershed are impaired for aquatic life and high levels of E. coli bacteria. Stream bank erosion and stormwater runoff are having a negative effect on the watershed’s water quality. Urban development and agricultural activities in the watershed have resulted in runoff that carries excess phosphorus, sediment, and bacteria into bodies of water. These pollutants degrade water quality and are harmful to fish and other aquatic life. The TMDL report quantifies the pollutant levels, identifies the sources of the pollution, and proposes ways to bring water quality back to an acceptable level.
The WRAPS report identifies impaired water bodies and those in need of protection, and identifies the actions needed to achieve and maintain water quality. For example, installing buffers of plants along shoreland, stabilizing stream banks, and implementing stormwater-control projects will help improve water quality in the watershed.
Many groups are participating in restoration and protection efforts, including the Coon Creek Watershed District, Anoka Conservation District, member cities, and several state and local organizations. Individuals are always encouraged to get involved.
These reports are some of more than a dozen that have been completed under the state’s watershed approach, a holistic way of gauging the health of streams and lakes, and developing strategies to restore or protect their water quality.
The reports are available on the MPCA’s Coon Creek Watershed webpage or at the MPCA’s St. Paul office, at 520 Lafayette Road N.
The MPCA encourages those interested in the Coon Creek Watershed to review and provide feedback on the reports. Comments on the reports should be submitted in writing by Jan. 28, 2016, to Rachel Olmanson, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., Saint Paul, MN 55155-4194, or sent by email to [email protected]. Olmanson is available to answer questions at 651-757-2473.
Written comments must specify which report you are commenting on, include a statement of your interest in the report, and the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft report you believe should be changed. You must state the specific reasons for your position.
More information is available on the MPCA’s Impaired waters and TMDLs webpage.
Broadcast version
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Coon Creek Watershed District, and local partners are recommending strategies to restore and protect water bodies in the Coon Creek Watershed. The watershed is in Anoka County, and includes the cities of Andover, Blaine, Columbus, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Ham Lake, and Spring Lake Park.
The Coon Creek Watershed Total Maximum Daily Load and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy reports detail the pollutant levels, sources of pollution, and strategies for remedying impaired water quality and for protecting unimpaired bodies of water in the watershed.
The draft reports are available for public review and comment through January 28, 2016. To see them, go to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website and search for “Coon Creek Watershed.” Or see them at the M-P-C-A office in Saint Paul, at 520 Lafayette Road North.
