Clean air is critical for health and wellbeing of every person in every area of the state. Clean air improves the health of residents, decreases health care costs, and helps to create and sustain communities that attract and retain business. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) strives to ensure all people in Minnesota have clean air, regardless of where they live or work. While we are fortunate to enjoy good air quality in Minnesota compared to other states, some communities are disproportionately affected by air pollution, including lower-income communities and Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. The MPCA is dedicated to supporting initiatives that improve air quality in overburdened communities and will continue to work towards environmental justice for all. While existing state and federal programs address criteria pollutants and some air toxic emissions, some communities across the state continue to experience disproportionate air pollution that can lead to serious and harmful health impacts. Through a legislative appropriation, a new, one-time grant funding opportunity has been created to help reduce air pollution throughout the state, with specific geographic focus around designated Environmental Justice areas. As a result, the MPCA has established the Industrial Facility Air Toxic and Criteria Emission Reduction grant. This unique, one-time grant opportunity is designed to provide project funding to regulated air pollution emitting facilities for pollution control equipment and/or process improvements that result in reduced air pollution emissions within Environmental Justice (EJ) areas of concern or within 1-mile of a designated EJ area. These grant funds, outlined in HR 2310, Article I, Section 2, subd.3(d), will allow Minnesota businesses to be innovative and go beyond existing air quality regulations to reduce a facility’s air pollution levels and help create a cleaner, healthier Minnesota. The intended outcome is a measurable decrease in harmful air toxic and criteria pollutants that are known to negatively impact human health and the health of the environment. Reducing air pollution ultimately reduces the negative health impacts of air toxic and criteria emissions originating from facilities and can make substantial progress on the goal of reducing the disproportionate impacts of pollution without imposing the expenses for implementing those reductions on the facility owners.
