Minnesota Pollution Control Issues Pollution Warning for Twin Cities Area

Fog and fine particles have combined to create unhealthy air for at risk populations in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air pollution health alert for the Twin Cities metropolitan area through Tuesday, Feb. 26. Overnight, fine particle pollution in the Twin Cities reached levels considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. Fine particle concentrations are expected to remain elevated through Tuesday morning.   As wind speeds increase this afternoon, air quality conditions are expected to improve.  At Risk Populations: Fine particle pollution has reached a level considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. Populations sensitive to fine particles include those with preexisting cardiovascular or respiratory disease, the elderly, children, and individuals that participate in activities requiring extended or…

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Editor's Notebook

What Contaminated Sites Are in Your Neighborhood?

The Hopkins properties that received cleanup grants last month are just two of the numerous properties that need some help before they can be redeveloped.

The metro’s conaminated sites got a little more attention than usual last week when first the Metropolitan Council and then the Department of Employment and Economic Development announced grant packages, including grants for the Gallery Flats project in downtown Hopkins. That followed a grant announced in June for the same project. The Park Nicollet and Lutheran Digest sites that make up the Gallery Flats project aren’t unusually contaminated, though—at least not in the smoke-belching-factory way that way most people think of. The sites are just two properties among hundreds that have health issues that must be taken care of before they can be redeveloped. The grant money for the Lutheran Digest building, for example, will take care of …

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MPCA Issues Air Pollution Health Advisory for Monday

Ozone levels are expected to peak Monday afternoon.

If the recent heat wave isn't enough to deter you from outdoor activity, the quality of the air expected this afternoon just might. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued another air pollution health advisory for Monday due to expected increases in ozone pollution for the Twin Cities metro and Rochester. The health advisory runs until midnight. The advisory indicates that ozone levels are expected to be near a level that is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, including those with preexisting respiratory conditions, the elderly, children, and individuals who participate in outdoor activities requiring extended or heavy exertion. A similar advisory was issued last week, and was upgraded to a health alert when ozone …

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MPCA Issues Air Pollution Advisory

The alert, which runs through midnight Wednesday, is due to expected increases in ozone pollution.

  (The following alert comes from The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.)   The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air pollution health advisory due to forecasted increases in ozone pollution for the Twin Cities metropolitan area and Rochester effective from noon until midnight on Wednesday, June 27.     At-risk Populations: Ozone is expected to near a level that is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. Those sensitive to ozone include people with preexisting respiratory conditions, the elderly, children, and individuals who participate in outdoor activities requiring extended or heavy exertion. These individuals are encouraged to postpone or reduce vigorous outdoor activity, or schedule outdoor activity in the …

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MPCA to Update Residents on Landfill Project

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will host a public information meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 to discuss its plan to upgrading the cover and gas-extraction system at the Hopkins Landfill.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is spreading the word about a landfill project scheduled to start late this summer. The agency will host a public information meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in City Hall's Council Chambers. The MPCA will discuss its plan to upgrad the cover and gas-extraction system at the Hopkins Landfill, located at 1414 Seventh St. S. Construction is expected to begin in late summer 2012 and be completed by the following summer. The Hopkins Landfill's cover system does not meet today’s standards, and the active gas-extraction system, which was installed in 1996, will be improved to better control the landfill’s methane gas. Because of the methane gas and the proximity of a large number of homes, the Hopkins Landfill …

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