Revisor ID: R-04805
The MPCA has begun work to implement a groundbreaking new law to remedy Minnesotans’ disproportionate exposure to pollutants. The law defines environmental justice areas and requires the MPCA to conduct a rulemaking process to address the cumulative impacts of pollution during permitting processes.
For many neighborhoods and communities in Minnesota, decades-old permitting and zoning decisions by local, state, and federal governments have resulted in heavily polluting industrial and manufacturing facilities located near homes, schools, and parks.
Provide your input
The comment period for the second request for comments is open until 4:30 p.m. on May 21, 2025.
As part of the law, the Legislature requires the MPCA to develop criteria for requiring a cumulative impact analysis and its content, define a substantial adverse environmental and health impact, establish the structure of a community benefits agreement and process, and ensure permit applicants have access to social and environmental factors, including elevated rates of disease, poor access to health insurance and medical care, and food insecurity.
These criteria, standards, agreements, and processes will be developed through the state’s thorough and lengthy rulemaking process.
Apply to the community input panel
The MPCA is establishing a community input panel on community benefit agreements with representation from stakeholder groups who have the potential to be impacted by the cumulative impacts rule. The MPCA commissioner will choose 12-14 representatives to serve. Application deadline is April 28.
Procedural rulemaking documents
April 2025
July 2023
Review working session documents
Review the documents from the five cumulative impacts working sessions that took place from July to November 2024.
The linked documents are draft materials from the 2024 development phase of this rulemaking project, and public comments submitted in response to those drafts. They are provided for background information only and do not represent any final MPCA proposals or decisions.
- Analysis indicators and datasets
Cumulative impacts analysis indicators and datasets (July 12 – Aug. 15)
- Community benefit agreements
Cumulative impacts community benefit agreements (Aug. 15 – Sept. 19)
- Analysis requirements
Cumulative impacts analysis requirements (Sept. 20 – Oct. 23)
- Community engagement and community benefit agreements
Cumulative impacts community engagement and community benefit agreements (Oct. 25 – Nov. 15)
- Analysis indicator prioritization
Cumulative impacts analysis indicator prioritization (Nov. 15 – Dec. 13)
Rulemaking schedule
| Dates | Task(s) |
|---|---|
| July 24, 2023 | Request for Comments published in the State Register; public comment period closed Oct. 6, 2023 |
| September 2023 | Open house information sessions
|
| Oct. 6, 2023 | Public comment period closed |
| Nov. 14, 2023 | RFC Summary Webinar (Virtual) |
| January-May 2024 | Playlist: Co-learning community conversations
|
| June-November 2024 | Working sessions on key rule topics
|
| 2025 |
|
| February 2025 | Midpoint check-in webinars (Virtual) |
| April 21, 2025 | Second request for comments published in the State Register; public comment period open until 4:30 p.m. on May 21, 2025 |
| May 2025 | Working session: Cumulative impacts analysis contents and substantial adverse impacts |
| No later than May 18, 2026 | Publish notice of hearing and draft rule text in State Register |
| TBD | Final adoption of rules |
Newly defined environmental justice areas
For the first time, the Legislature defined an environmental justice area in Minnesota law when it passed the 2023 cumulative impacts law. These areas are the focal points for developing Minnesota’s cumulative impact analysis criteria and processes for some air permit decisions. An environmental justice area is defined in statute as one or more census tracts — small, permanent subdivisions of a county or city — meeting any of the following criteria:
- 40% or more of the population is nonwhite.
- 35% or more of the households have an income at or below 200% of poverty ($60,000 for a family of four).
- 40% or more of the population over the age of five has limited English proficiency.
- Located within Indian Country.
The MPCA must use these criteria for the cumulative impact rulemaking, which only apply to the Twin Cities seven-county metro area and the cities of Duluth and Rochester. The MPCA has developed maps for the Twin Cities metro, Duluth and Rochester that show environmental justice areas and one-mile buffer zones.
An updated statewide list of facilities that may be impacted by this rulemaking has been developed, although the criteria and process to determine if a facility needs additional environmental analysis have not been created.
The statewide map of environmental justice areas was updated in September 2024.