MPCA works with other agencies to monitor cleanup of tritium leak at Xcel Energy Monticello Plant
The MPCA, in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is monitoring Xcel Energy’s efforts to clean up a release of water contaminated with tritium detected at the company’s Monticello nuclear generating plant. Monitoring shows that the leak has not left facility site or contaminated drinking water sources.
Xcel Energy reported the leak to the Minnesota Duty Officer and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in late November 2022 after finding unusual results during routine groundwater monitoring. The leak has been stopped and has not reached the Mississippi River or contaminated drinking water sources. There is no evidence at this time to indicate a risk to any drinking water wells in the vicinity of the plant. Read more. For extensive news coverage on the situation, check out March 16 news clips on the Lorax.
MPCA's EAO Risk Evaluation & Air Modeling (REAM) unit takes part in NASA program
 In the February 16 PCA 2Day, you may have read about NASA’s Tropospheric Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) geostationary satellite instrument sensor system in the "And before we go..." section of the newsletter. It turns out that MPCA is a one of several air quality agencies that is part of the TEMPO Early Adopters program.
At the American Meteorological Society conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in January 2020, Daniel Dix was asked if the agency would be interested in participating in the Early Adopters program. As a part of this group, the EAO Risk Evaluation & Air Modeling (REAM) unit meteorologists were able to see and learn about the details of the program and propose a green paper to NASA TEMPO for a possible proxy and actual use of the satellite imaging data. Read more on the Lorax.
Join your coworkers in celebrating Earth Month! — because #onedayisnotenough
Throughout the month of April, our agency will be celebrating Earth Month! We’re bringing back the Treasures Table, hosting a clothing swap and a clothing drive, cleaning up Lafayette Park and our Adopt-A-Highway section in Maplewood, plus we’ll be celebrating Bike Week April 24-28!
As an extra bonus, we’ve teamed up with Virgin Pulse to offer a 50 point reward to MPCA staff who participate and successfully complete the Sustainability Challenge, taking place throughout the month of April! Find out how to sign up on the Lorax.
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Metro Skywarn Storm Spotter training
Metro Skywarn Storm Spotter training is for all staff, but especially those who work outdoors. and covers the basics of spotting storms and safety considerations for all outdoor weather hazards. This training is coordinated with the National Weather Service. Staff who attend this training will be certified storm spotters who can report severe weather to the National Weather Service. Those staff who are in the regional offices will be certified with the NWS forecast offices that serves their home location. Staff who are highly encouraged to take this training are supervisors, managers and staff who work in outdoor environments. (Note: This training is the same training the staff in the Watershed Division are getting, thus staff in the Watershed Division do not need to duplicate this training.)
There will be two sessions offered to accommodate staff schedules (staff only need to attend one, both are the same):
April 19, noon-1:30 p.m. Join the meeting.
May 9, noon-1:30 p.m. Join the meeting.
Weather Radar and Satellite training
This session is a follow-up to the storm spotter training for those staff who are interested in learning more about radar and satellite technology. There is only one session offered this year: May 11, noon-1:30 p.m. Join the meeting.
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Well-being webinars
Take an hour to focus on your health by attending one of MMB's Well-being webinars. All sessions are held from noon to 1 p.m. Check out two upcoming events: Wednesday, March 22, Stress-sleep correlation. Sleep is as important as food, water and breathing. Learn how small changes to your daily routine can help you sleep better; and Wednesday, April 5, Overcoming procrastination. Don’t put off adding this to your calendar
Check out upcoming Wednesday WorkLife Webinars on the webinar webpage.
— from the Financial Assistance and Budgeting (FAB) Section, your partners in purchasing, accounting, contracting, and budgeting.
Tidbit: Five members of the fiscal staff participated in the 2023 State Procurement Opportunity Fair. We met over 65 suppliers and discussed their business needs and MPCA upcoming opportunities. A special thank you to Jaycee Gardner, Kathy Kepulis, Carolyn Kammeyer, Christina Sundgaard, and Joan Hoffman for helping to make the fair a success.
Term of the week: Office of Equity in Procurement (OEP) is a state agency that promotes opportunities to do business with the state, and provide assistance to small businesses owned by women, minorities, people with substantial physical disabilities, and veterans as they seek state contracts. index / Minnesota.gov (mn.gov)
If you have a question that you would like the FAB section to answer on the MPCA Today, please email Sandy Bowes at sandy.bowes@state.mn.us.
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Join the band or chorus!
The Lafayette Park Orchestra and Chorus are preparing for an Earth Day celebration. Come join your colleagues in making a big noise. Any instrument or voice is welcome to join. We have fun while working hard to create something glorious when we're ready to perform! The performance is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, April 19.
Contact Anne Jackson for calendar invites to band practice, or Janeen Dednam-Wright for calendar invites to chorus rehearsals.
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Job opening
Climate director: This position helps advance the MPCA mission, vision, and objectives by leading, managing, and overseeing the agency’s programmatic operations as they relate to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The position also provides strategic advice to the commissioner, deputy commissioner, and assistant commissioner for Air and Climate Policy and serves a central role in coordinating climate policy and implementation across state agencies to implement the Climate Action Framework and directly supports the Climate Subcabinet and the Advisory Council on Climate Change. Job ID: 64095. Location: St. Paul. Closing date: April 6.
To search for more details on these job postings, sign into Self Service. Click on Careers Portal and enter the Job ID number in "Search Jobs."
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Joint agency statement on draft federal limits on PFAS in drinking water
Following the U.S. EPA's announcement of proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels on certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water, the MPCA and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) issued a statement saying the the agencies welcome the U.S. EPA's draft Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) as a critical step toward reducing Americans' exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through drinking water.
Minnesota has been working for decades to protect people from negative health effects of PFAS exposure. For more than 20 years, our state has led efforts to recognize the impacts of PFAS and protect Minnesotans by establishing health-based guidance values for PFOS, PFOA and several other PFAS. Public drinking water systems have been using these values as their guide to provide safe drinking water for customers and private well owners have been using this guidance to ensure the safety of their water. Read more.
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March’s Equity Experience events
Equity Experience events offer a variety of ways to “experience” equity, so we can hold ourselves accountable to learning, growing, and engaging with this important work and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Check out the event list on the Lorax. In order to receive an IDEA credit for attending an Equity Experience event, you will be required to report what you learned, thought, experienced, etc. to your team, so that there will be accountability and shared learning.
Air Issues Seminar: Air Toxins & Human Physiology
Wednesday, March 22, 9-10 a.m.
Please join us for the March Air Issues Seminar. Derek King, a Research Scientist in the Risk Evaluation and Air Modeling Unit, will present on human physiology: how the body eliminates toxins and reacts to toxic air.
Join Teams meeting.
Water Issues Seminar: Dam effects and the benefits of removal
Thursday, March 23, 9-10 a.m.
Dams have numerous negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems by affecting riverine habitat, water quality, and biodiversity. Amy Childers from the Minnesota DNR will review these various impacts and explore the ways the DNR and partners are tackling this issue through dam removals and modifications. Dams across the country are reaching the end of their design life, are failing or are a failure risk, and are very expensive to replace or repair. These circumstances, in addition to the environmental concerns and funding possibilities, have encouraged dam owners, agencies and communities to choose dam removal. Amy will show results highlighting the recovery of fish and mussel communities after barrier removals from around the state.
Join Webex meeting.
Innovative EJ data tool presentation and discussion
Tuesday, March 28, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
On behalf of the Cumulative Impact Framework project team, we would like to invite you to a presentation by authors of the CalEnviroScreen report from California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to talk about their experience with this innovative environmental justice data tool! This is a chance to get a closer look at how data and research have been applied to address complex environmental challenges in California, and then explore how Minnesota can learn from California’s work. Our project team is closely reviewing a variety of data, tools, and resources to help move cumulative impacts work forward at our agency.
This will be an hour-long, virtual session with a presentation followed-up with time to ask California staff questions about their work. It will also be a recorded event for people who cannot attend the session
Join Teams meeting.
IDI Qualified Administrator Certification Course
Interested in becoming a Qualified Administrator (QA) of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)? As we roll out the IDI agency-wide, the MPCA is in need of more qualified administrators to host group and individual debriefs for staff. Minnesota Management and Budget is offering an online IDI qualifying seminar for individuals to be trained and licensed as IDI QAs.
The seminar runs April 3-6, 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The cost of the three half-day qualifying seminar will be paid for by the MPCA. Registration deadline: March 20.
For more information about the IDI QA Certification course, email here. Check out step-by-step instructions on how to enroll.
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Statewide PFAS treatment and destruction costs
Please join us to learn about PFAS water treatment and destruction technologies, their costs, and affordability. Barr Engineering and Hazen will present on currently available technologies that are capable of treating and destroying PFAS in wastewater, biosolids, landfill leachate, and compost contact water. You’ll better understand these technologies and the costs of building them at a statewide scale. Wednesday, April 19, 10-11 a.m.
This event is open to all state employees and will be hosted both on Teams and in-person at the MPCA St. Paul office, Room LL South. Join the meeting.
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8 Hour HAZWOPER Refresher classes
This course is required for staff who respond to hazardous substances released in the environment. The course satisfies the OSHA requirements for uncontrolled hazardous waste operations, response, and management. The course will cover the levels of PPE, toxicology, chemical safety, and managing an incident. Sign up through ELM. A minimum of eight attendees is required to hold each class. Below are upcoming classes.
R32PCASAF002-093 In-person – St. Paul April 6
R32PCASAF002-090V Virtual May 31
In the news
Critical of MPCA, some DFLers want to revive citizens board idea
The proposed eight-member “community board” would vote alongside the MPCA commissioner on permits for things like new dairy farms and mining projects. MPCA government relations director Tom Johnson said during a Senate hearing Thursday the agency “does not oppose” bills advancing in the House and Senate to create an eight-member “community board” that would vote alongside the MPCA commissioner on permits for things like new dairy farms and mining projects. — MinnPost
Soybean growers sue Minnesota over ‘zero-emission’ mandate
The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association joins the Minnesota Service Station & Convenience Store Association and NACS, Clean Fuels Development Coalition, and ICM Inc. challenging the legality of MPCA rules requiring that new cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles in the state meet emission limits set by California and match California’s requirements for the sale of a certain percentage of so-called “zero-emission vehicles,” as defined by California regulators. — AgDaily
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Recently in social media at the MPCA!
Are extreme snowstorms an indicator of climate change? According to MPCA meteorologists, yes. Learn more in the video below 
Check out the post.
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