• EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
• $1M now available for heavy-duty off-road diesel equipment
• Second round of MPCA grants for dry cleaning equipment coming soon
• Air modeling seminar and updates
• Reminder: Share your climate action ideas and priorities
• Host a climate conversation
• For classrooms: A Minnesota-focused Flipgrid activity about climate change
• Apply for a climate resilience planning grant today
• You’re invited to stakeholder forums for statewide transportation planning
• GENERAL NEWS
• Katrina Kessler appointed commissioner of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Wood smoke: What you can do
• Refrigeration management
• RETAP celebrates 20 years
• Clean Air Minnesota reports successes
• State efforts promote health in transportation
• Great Lakes Commission renews commitment to mercury reduction
• In the news: PFAS
• REGULATORY UPDATES
• 2022 air emission fees – early estimate
• Notice of intent to adopt proposed air quality housekeeping rules
• Control equipment rule guidance online
• Recent EPA actions

EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

$1M now available for heavy-duty off-road diesel equipment

The MPCA is now accepting applications for grant funds to replace or improve heavy-duty off-road diesel equipment. Recipients can use the federal Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) funds for cleaner diesel, alternative fuel, hybrid, or all-electric equipment. The approximately $1 million in grant funds comes in the latest round of funds from DERA and the national Volkswagen settlement to help clean up emissions from older, diesel-powered equipment and vehicles. Eligible equipment may include marine engines, locomotives, trailer refrigeration units, terminal tractors, drayage trucks, off-road engines, and other equipment and vehicles used in construction, handling of cargo, agriculture, mining, or energy production. Visit the MPCA clean diesel off-road DERA grant webpage for full details and application materials. Applications are due by December 1, 2021.

Second round of MPCA grants for dry cleaning equipment coming soon

In 2021, the Legislature signed into law a ban on the use of perc as a dry cleaning solvent. Over $350,000 was set aside for a cost share program to help dry cleaning shops replace their perc equipment before the ban goes into effect in January 2026. The second round of the cost share grants will be available from the MPCA soon. Perc (perchloroethylene) is a solvent that may pose serious hazards to employees, people who live in the area around dry cleaning shops, and the environment. People who routinely breathe perc or get perc on their skin are at risk of developing health problems. Spills, leaks, and careless disposal of dry cleaning chemicals have also resulted in soil, groundwater, and soil vapor contamination at sites throughout Minnesota. Dry cleaners are encouraged to take advantage of the cost share grants to make the switch away from perc sooner rather than later. In addition to preparing for the ban, switching away from perc will: Prevent pollution and waste Save money on disposal and purchase costs Reduce regulatory requirements Reduce employee exposure to harmful chemicals Attract environmentally-conscious customers. Sign up to be notified when the grants open. Send questions about the grants to grants.pca@state.mn.us with the subject: “Dry cleaner cost share question.”

Air modeling seminar and updates

Save the date: MPCA 2022 winter air modeling seminar 

The MPCA’s 2022 winter air modeling seminar will be held on January 13 from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. The meeting will follow a hybrid format and can be attended online or in-person at the MPCA’s offices at 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, Room 100.

The air modeling seminars are an opportunity for participation by the regulated community. They are a forum where you can share your air dispersion modeling issues and ideas with other air professionals. The January agenda will focus on ambient air quality topics. If you are interested in presenting on this topic, please let us know before December 1 at AirModeling.PCA@state.mn.us.

If you are interested in attending, please send an email to AirModeling.PCA@state.mn.us to RSVP. Please include whether you prefer to attend virtually or in-person in your email.

Air modeling manual updated

The MPCA has completed the 2021-2022 revision of the air quality dispersion modeling practices manual. The manual is available on the MPCA air quality modeling webpage.

At the 2022 winter air quality modeling seminar, the MPCA will discuss how end-user feedback was used to revise the current version of the manual. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact the MPCA's air modeling team at AirModeling.PCA@state.mn.us

Reminder: Share your climate action ideas and priorities

Minnesota’s state agencies want to hear your ideas for climate action. Our online platform is still gathering ideas from residents and organizations across the state to help create strategies that protect against climate change. Share your ideas before the end of the year. In early 2022, the ideas and solutions you contribute will be used to develop a meaningful plan for climate action for Minnesota.

Visit Our Minnesota Climate to learn more, share ideas, or comment on other people’s suggestions for government, individuals, and industries. 

Host a climate conversation

Minnesota’s climate change subcabinet has developed a toolkit for Minnesotans to host climate conversations virtually or in person this fall.

What are climate conversations?

• Climate conversations are small-group conversations people can host with members of their community to talk about how climate change impacts them and how they can address it.
• Hosting or attending a climate conversation can help people connect with others in their community who care about our climate, provide opportunities for shared learning, and catalyze action.
• Share your ideas and they will be used to make a plan for action. The subcabinet wants to hear from Minnesotans across the state about their climate change concerns, their vision of the future, and what actions they are interested in taking.

How does it work?

You don’t need to be an expert to host a conversation, you just need to be interested in climate change and what it means for Minnesota. The climate conversation toolkit provides guiding questions, resources about climate in Minnesota, and directions for sending ideas to our climate change website.

Why hold a climate conversation?

Every Minnesotan has a role in addressing climate change and identifying solutions. Government cannot do it alone. By working with all Minnesotans, we will build resilient communities, protect natural spaces, reduce risks to our farms and businesses, and create a homegrown clean economy.

Materials for hosts and participants are available on the climate conversations webpage. Climate conversations started in September and will continue into December.

For classrooms: A Minnesota-focused Flipgrid activity about climate change

Minnesota’s climate change subcabinet aims to build greater public awareness of the current challenges we face from climate change, communicate how state government is responding, and inspire more Minnesotans to take action. As a part of this, they’ve created a Minnesota-focused Flipgrid activity about climate change, designed for use in middle- through higher-education classrooms or out of school programs.

The Flipgrid topic asks learners to imagine and describe Minnesota in the year 2050, the year that our state will be meeting—or exceeding!—its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 80 percent. After reading short articles about climate change impacts and solutions on the website for Our Minnesota Climate, the activity asks the students to share: What are your ideas for climate action in Minnesota? What do you want Minnesota to be like in 2050? 

In return, state employees who work on climate change are listening. If you are an educator in Minnesota and complete this activity before June 30, 2022, you are invited to email britt.gangeness@state.mn.us to arrange for a state leader to visit your grid as a guest, view the videos, and leave a video reply for your learners. Both students and climate leaders learn from this experience, and gain understanding of each other. Flipgrid is a simple, free video discussion platform for educators. Educators can make a free account to use Minnesota’s climate change Flipgrid activity with their learners. Learn more at Our Minnesota Climate’s webpage for teachers and students, Youth envision the future.

Apply for a climate resilience planning grant today

Climate change caused by air pollution is threatening critical infrastructure and human health across Minnesota. Prepare your community to adapt through a climate resilience planning grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

This funding provides an opportunity to assess vulnerabilities and conduct planning in three areas: stormwater resilience, wastewater resilience, and community resilience to adapt services and public infrastructure for the effects of climate change.

Tribal nations, cities, counties, towns/townships, soil and water conservation districts, water management organizations, water districts, and regional development commissions and the Metropolitan Council are eligible to apply. Applications are due no later than Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. CST.

Find more information on the MPCA climate resilience planning grant webpage.

You’re invited to stakeholder forums for statewide transportation planning

MnDOT is currently updating the statewide multimodal transportation plan – our state’s highest-level plan for all modes of transportation. You’re invited to attend a stakeholder forum in December to discuss proposed changes to the plan’s policy objectives, performance measures, strategies, and actions.

The plan’s changes are a compilation of public input, trend analyses, feedback from work groups, and more, including two recent workshops focused on performance measurement and equity.

Come to the December stakeholder forums to hear more about the workshops and public engagement efforts, and join conversations about climate change, equity, and more. The forums will be one of the last opportunities to discuss proposed changes before the draft plan is made available for public comment in early 2022.

Save the date – the forums will be held the morning of December 2 and the afternoon of December 7. More information about how to attend the forums will be available soon at www.minnesotago.org.

GENERAL NEWS

Katrina Kessler appointed commissioner of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Governor Walz has appointed Katrina Kessler commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Kessler was most recently the agency’s assistant commissioner for water policy and agriculture. She has served the MPCA in various roles for over 15 years, helping advance agency priorities and policies, adopt innovative solutions to protect the environment and support new jobs, and address climate change. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to build upon the MPCA’s exceptional work to create a better climate, prevent and address PFAS contamination, and ensure that Minnesotans disproportionately impacted by pollution have cleaner air and water,” said Kessler. “We can continue to foster stronger economic growth and protect our natural resources by embracing the best science, local innovation, and Minnesota common sense.” Read more about Commissioner Kessler on the MPCA website.

Wood smoke: What you can do

Whether you burn wood to heat your home or for recreation with friends and family, you can reduce harmful wood smoke and save money by following these easy tips: Avoid burning during air quality alerts Only burn dry, well-seasoned wood Only burn clean, untreated wood Have your stove and chimney cleaned annually Consider upgrading to a cleaner burning stove Learn more on the MPCA’s wood smoke webpage.

Refrigeration management

Does your business have a walk-in cooler or freezer? Refrigerant gases have a big impact on the environment when leaks go unnoticed. Keep your walk-in from leaking greenhouse gases by doing preventive maintenance, including regular service visits from a certified technician. Contact your refrigeration service provider to schedule your next checkup. Does your walk-in have a strip curtain? If not, install one to avoid unwanted heat from sneaking in while the door is open. Visually inspect the strip curtain often for ice buildup. This is a sign of compromised insulation that may need to be repaired or replaced. Interested in other ways you can reduce your refrigeration system’s impact on the environment and help your bottom line? Contact Alison Cameron in the MPCA’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program at Alison.cameron@state.mn.us for more info.

RETAP celebrates 20 years

Minnesota’s Retiree Environmental Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) has been providing free help to businesses and communities for two decades. A virtual presentation on October 27, co-hosted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Minnesota GreenStep, highlighted the achievements of the program’s facility assessment and community sustainability teams.

RETAP’s facility assessment team has completed more than 400 facility assessments over the past 20 years. If all the resulting recommendations were implemented, savings would total over $4 million. Recommendations include retrofits, equipment upgrades, and behavior changes. Facilities are encouraged to address “low hanging fruit” opportunities, such as lighting retrofits and adjustments to indoor heating temperatures and schedules. This mix of equipment and behavior change recommendations has resulted in a high implementation rate.

RETAP’s community sustainability team has engaged local government staff and elected officials in sustainability topics, to support better long-term decision-making. This highly impactful work has included quantifying the true benefits and costs of public parking, municipal water, urban trees, bike lanes, and more. Providing metrics and realistic action plans has been their recipe for success.

You can watch the October presentation on the GreenStep webpage, and learn more about how RETAP can help your business or community on the RETAP webpage.

Clean Air Minnesota reports successes

Clean Air Minnesota is a public-private-community partnership working voluntarily and proactively to reduce human-made sources of two common pollutants: fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone. The work from the two-year funding period that ended June 2021 is complete and had positive results, even in the midst of the pandemic. Projects focused on pollution reductions included: Grants to change out 2-stroke, gas-powered lawn equipment with electric equivalents Grants for heavy duty diesel vehicle replacements and engine re-builds Project Clean Air Repair, which repairs emission controls and exhaust equipment on low-income qualified cars in areas of concern for environmental justice Efforts to reduce pollution from auto body shops and other businesses that use solvents An educational video about the impacts of backyard fires. Together, these projects eliminated nearly 560 tons of pollution between July 2019 and June 2021. Pollution reductions will continue for the lifetime of the equipment. Clean Air Minnesota also hosted webinars throughout the two years to engage and network virtually, bringing forward important concepts for advancing voluntary air pollution reduction work. Clean Air Minnesota’s project teams continue to coordinate work to reduce pollution from area sources, mobile sources, and wood smoke. Consider attending a project team meeting or joining a team to dive into this work. Visit the Clean Air Minnesota webpage to learn more. The MPCA is a Clean Air Minnesota partner organization and funder.

State efforts promote health in transportation

How is MnDOT working to make your community healthier? How does transportation affect the health of people, the environment, and the economy? Find out at the new MnDOT and public health webpage, where MnDOT’s Sustainability and Public Health Division shares details about transportation and health focus areas along with resources. Created in 2019, the MnDOT Sustainability and Public Health Division is leading agency efforts to prioritize safe, convenient, and affordable transportation options that help connect people with schools, jobs, friends and family, and essential needs like healthy food, recreation, and health care.

Great Lakes Commission renews commitment to mercury reduction

Air pollutants don’t stay in the air forever, and they often end up in water. This is particularly a problem with mercury. Mercury released into the air settles into water and accumulates in fish, making them unsafe for people and other animals to eat. At its 2021 annual meeting, the Great Lakes Commission adopted an updated policy resolution supporting mercury pollution monitoring, research, and reduction in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin. The resolution was unanimously passed by all commission member states and provinces: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Québec, and Wisconsin.

The resolution:

• States the multiple ecological, social, and economic benefits of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River for the U.S. and Canada
• Asserts that mercury pollution harms these benefits and the health of communities throughout the region, specifically noting that disadvantaged communities and other vulnerable populations are at higher risk and generally experience disproportionate effects from mercury contamination
• Acknowledges that while governments in the United States and Canada at all levels – tribes, states, provinces, and federal governments – are acting to reduce mercury use and emissions, there is more that can be done. In addition, changes in climate and weather patterns are likely to impact where mercury comes from and where it ends up.
• Offers suggestions and support for actions to understand and reduce mercury pollution.

The resolution replaces the previous mercury policy from 2010, and is available in full on the commission’s policy resolution webpage.

In the news: PFAS

PFAS actions at EPA

In October, the EPA made several important announcements related to PFAS regulation and risk assessment.

First, the EPA released a document called “PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA's Commitments to Action 2021-2024.” This document highlights key action areas and their timelines for completion, including a timeline to designate some PFAS as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law.

EPA then published the final risk assessment for replacement PFAS chemicals called "GenX chemicals.” The agency found that these replacement substances were as potent toxicants as legacy PFAS like PFOA and PFOS.

Finally, the EPA announced they were initiating rulemaking to add some PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, and GenX compounds) to the RCRA hazardous constituents list, which is a step in the process to regulate PFAS as a listed hazardous waste.

MPCA’s draft PFAS monitoring plan At the MPCA, staff across all permitting programs are working to finalize the draft PFAS monitoring plan. The draft plan will include considerations for PFAS monitoring at solid waste facilities, hazardous waste landfills, wastewater facilities, air facilities, stormwater facilities, and sites in the Brownfield or Superfund programs. The draft plan itself will not establish facility-specific requirements. Instead, it will outline how the agency plans to proceed with prioritizing sites for PFAS monitoring and provide more information about what that monitoring would entail. MPCA will be accepting input on the draft this fall from all interested parties – including you. Stay tuned for more information about the draft plan’s release date and opportunities to help the MPCA improve the plan before it is finalized. Learn more on the MPCA’s PFAS webpages.

REGULATORY UPDATES

2022 air emission fees – early estimate

Facilities with air quality permits are billed annually based on the total amount of nitrogen oxides (NO_X), lead (Pb), particulate matter less than 10 micrometers (PM₁₀), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) they emit into the atmosphere. The early estimated air fee for 2022 is approximately $171 per ton of billable emissions.  

The federal Clean Air Act requires states to collect air emission fees to fund their activities. In Minnesota, the air fee is determined by dividing the amount of money appropriated by the Legislature for the MPCA air program by the total billable emissions in the most recent finalized emissions inventory. The MPCA has estimated the 2022 air fee based on the 2020 emissions inventory. The increase in the 2022 air fee is primarily due to the decrease of billable facility emissions by 14 percent in 2020, with the majority of the decrease from NO_X and SO₂ emissions.

The estimated 2022 air fee is draft and subject to change. Invoices based on the 2020 air emissions will be mailed in the spring of 2022. See the MPCA emission inventory fees webpage for more information.

Notice of intent to adopt proposed air quality housekeeping rules

The MPCA published notice of intent to adopt rules without a public hearing in the October 18 State Register. The notice is available on the MPCA’s public notice webpage.

The proposed rules are amendments to existing rules governing air quality, and are known as the “air quality housekeeping rule.” The proposed rules will:

• Update requirements for Part 70 permit application notice and comment
• Update procedures to petition for EPA review of state and Part 70 permits
• Modify general requirements for Option B, C, and D registration permits and capped permits
• Incorporate by reference federal plan requirements for small municipal waste combustor units and municipal solid waste landfills
• Implement the 2020 Legislature’s ban on the use of trichloroethylene (TCE).

Other minor housekeeping rule changes will clarify definitions, correct gaps and errors identified while administering the rules, and align state and federal rules.

Rule documents and directions on how to submit comments are available on the air quality housekeeping rule webpage. Comments must be received by December 6.

Control equipment rule guidance online

MPCA’s small business environmental assistance program has developed an online training to help facilities understand and comply with the control equipment rule. The training introduces the rule, options for businesses with MPCA air permits, types of air pollution control equipment, and how to comply with the rule.

Recent EPA actions

In October, the EPA adopted a rule that will reduce hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs) – known to be high-impact greenhouse gases – by 85% over the next 15 years. The rule will phase down production and consumption of HFCs by establishing an allocation and trading program that will limit the amount of HFCs that can be imported or produced each year. The rule was prompted by the federal American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which directs EPA to address HFCs in three ways: (1) phasing down production and consumption, (2) maximizing reclamation and minimizing releases from equipment, and (3) facilitating the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions. Other recent EPA news: EPA released its policy assessment of the PM NAAQS, finding that the PM2.5 annual and daily standards could be tightened. EPA released its draft strategic plan for 2022-2026. EPA released its updated climate adaptation plan and launched a new climate adaptation webpage. Debra Shore has been named the new EPA Regional Administrator for Region 5.