Pollution already heavily concentrated in ‘frontline communities’ — communities that experience the first and worst negative impacts of pollution — combined with existing unjust conditions that produce health and socioeconomic disparities, leads to the accumulation of compounding negative impacts or ‘cumulative impacts.’
HPHC is a member of the Frontline Communities Protection Coalition (FCPC), a group of organizations led by COPAL MN and the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table. During the 2023 legislative session, the FCPC, guided by the existing work of North Minneapolis’ Community Members for Environmental Justice (CMEJ), helped pass Minnesota’s Cumulative Impacts law.
The cumulative impacts law will require the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to carefully examine existing levels of pollution before approving a permit for a new polluting facility. The law — if implemented effectively — will protect communities’ rights to breathe clean air. In fall 2023, the MPCA began the first stage of the rulemaking process for the cumulative impacts law. This is an intensive, three year process with multiple opportunities to advocate for health equity.
The cumulative impacts law focuses on ‘environmental justice areas,’ which are defined by Minnesota law as census tracts meeting any of the following criteria:
The MPCA will use these criteria for the cumulative impacts law’s rulemaking, which will focus on Duluth, Rochester, and the Twin Cities seven-county metro area.
Duluth Environmental Justice Map
Rochester Environmental Justice Map
Twin Cities Metro Environmental Justice Map
List of Polluting Facilities in Minnesota
Phase 1 | July 24 – October 6, 2023: The MPCA seeks the public’s comments on rulemaking for the cumulative impacts law
Phase 2 | October 2023 – April 2026: The MPCA gathers the data, ideas, and approaches to develop a cumulative impacts analysis process for air permitting decisions impacting Duluth, Rochester, and the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. Public engagement is key to ensure an equitable, transparent, and community-centered implementation process for the law.
Phase 3 | May 24, 2026: The MPCA must have criteria and processes ready for final public comment and legal review.
2024 will set the foundation for the rules the MPCA is writing. We know that corporate polluters have a vested interest in weakening the cumulative impacts law to continue polluting in overburdened communities. It’s imperative that the MPCA hears from Minnesotans who understand health and health equity, including hundreds of health, public health, and science professionals like you.
Weak and inequitable rulemaking could result in the law not living up to its original intent of providing meaningful change for communities unjustly burdened by pollution. The MPCA will be hearing from opposition stakeholders who stand to profit from weak rulemaking, so it’s crucial that we make our voices heard throughout the process to protect public health.
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