Regulators are conducting more pollution testing at a south Minneapolis metal foundry that federal investigations say violated the Clean Air Act, and are pressuring the facility to improve its self-regulation.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is asking Smith Foundry to develop an ongoing emissions monitoring plan and is requesting that it provide more details on the types of raw materials used in its metal casting process.
Nearby residents say their neighborhood has dealt with heavy pollution from the foundry for too long, and that it has resulted in health issues like asthma and heart conditions. The asthma rate in the 55407 zip code surrounding Smith Foundry is more than double the metro regional average, according to Minnesota Department of Health data.
“It’s really scary to not know what the pollution is doing to my family and not have any control over it,” said Nicole Mason, who became involved in environmental justice issues in the neighborhood after her granddaughter was diagnosed with asthma.
Smith Foundry, located on E. 28th Street in the East Phillips neighborhood, is in an ongoing enforcement action process with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Federal investigators documented nine violations of the Clean Air Act during a surprise inspection at the facility in May, and sent a notification to the company that started the enforcement process in August.
The EPA found that for a five year period from 2018 to May 2023 Smith Foundry regularly emitted around double the amount of air pollution allowed by its state permit, failed to properly maintain functioning pollution mitigation equipment, and did not notify state officials about equipment failures as required by law. That enforcement process is ongoing, according to the EPA, which has declined to comment on the specifics of the case beyond what is available in public filings.
A third party is testing emissions from Smith Foundry this week to measure pollutants and evaluate how effectively the facility’s pollution mitigation equipment is operating. The testing is part of the EPA’s ongoing enforcement action. State and federal regulators say they expect to have data 30 days after testing is completed, and will share results with the public.
The test comes months after the start of the EPA’s enforcement action against the facility, increased scrutiny from state officials, and significant public backlash about the EPA’s findings.
Additionally, The MPCA will be placing two new air quality monitors near the facility this month, and will make the data available to the public once the monitors are live, agency officials said.
More testing, monitoring coming
The EPA’s findings from May documented elevated levels of lead and particulate matter pollution. Smith Foundry has historically been listed as a source of lead pollution in Minneapolis according to MPCA data. Phillips is one of five city neighborhoods where the Minneapolis Health Department has documented elevated blood lead levels in children.
Those findings are based on emissions factors, which are projections of expected emissions given the operations and self-reported data of regulated facilities. In 2021, the last year with public data available, MPCA records show that Smith Foundry emitted significant amounts of lead pollution.
Zynik Capital, the firm that bought Smith Foundry in December 2022, said that they do not use scrap metal alloys that contain lead. The previous foundry operator self-reported its lead emissions, according to the MPCA.
The testing will help determine if lead is present, the MPCA said in a December 8 letter. But to get more information, the agency is asking Smith Foundry for all assessments of raw materials it has processed since the new ownership took over. The MPCA requested the foundry turn in that information by December 20.
The MPCA also directed the foundry to submit a timeline by December 20 of its plan to implement ongoing air emissions monitoring at the facility, according to the MPCA letter. The agency said it wants to see a plan developed by mid-April.
The goal of requiring the foundry to implement its own continuous emissions monitoring plan is to constantly track what pollutants are being emitted and in what quantities. The MPCA wants the foundry’s plan to include quality objectives and descriptions of monitoring equipment and methods.
“We are fully committed to meeting clean air standards for our community and union workers now, and as we work with the MPCA during the permitting process,” Foundry officials said in a statement.
Smith Foundry will respond to the MPCA’s letter by December 20, and staff are working to address issues they inherited when Zynik Capital bought the facility, said the foundry’s statement.
The increased monitoring of what is going into and emerging from the foundry will influence the new state permit process, according to the MPCA. Smith Foundry currently operates on a permit issued in 1992, and state officials have been in the process of creating a new permit for the facility since 2016.
In a statement released after recent intense community meetings about the foundry, MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler acknowledged that community members don’t want to see a new permit for the facility. State and federal laws allow for the facility to continue operating while addressing violations, she said.
The agency plans to release a cumulative analysis of pollution around the facility in the spring and a draft of a new permit in the fall*, with a goal of finalizing a new permit by the end of 2024.
“It has taken too long for the MPCA to develop a new permit for Smith Foundry, and the agency needs to do better,” Kessler wrote.
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Public pressure mounts
Community members are fighting to shutter Smith Foundry, and are pressuring the MPCA to not grant the foundry a new permit. They continue to write to MPCA officials and hold protests outside the facility.
“Smith Foundry needs to go and they need to go now,” Jolene Jones, a longtime resident of East Phillip’s Little Earth community, said at a December 9 rally documented by the Minnesota Climate Justice Committee.
Toya López with Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate said closing the foundry would be a preventative health measure
“Remove what’s making us sick so we can heal, ” López said.
Organizers and neighbors say they are determined to see the foundry close.
“We have this powerful movement that’s been growing and growing, so we are going to shut this facility down,” said Nazir Khan with the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table.
*Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the MPCA’s timeline to create a new permit for Smith Foundry.
