A foundry in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood accused of pollution violations has reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The agreement requires St. Paul Brass Foundry to reduce its smog and lead pollution, but does not include a financial penalty, according to the EPA. The agency conducted a surprise inspection in July 2022 at the foundry, located on Minnehaha Avenue adjacent to Frogtown Park and Farm.
Inspectors issued two separate notices of violations to the company, one in March 2023 and another that June. The EPA found issues with several recordkeeping practices and the performance of pollutant filtration equipment. The agency also cited St. Paul Brass for not responding to requests from EPA inspectors who were seeking information from the company.
The foundry was not adequately maintaining the filters that process emissions produced by melting and casting metals, likely resulting in increased pollution levels, according to EPA reports.
St. Paul Brass Foundry Plant Manager David Hartigan said in a written statement that the company cooperated with the EPA throughout the enforcement process, and has made improvements to reduce emissions.
“St. Paul Foundry is pleased to move beyond the EPA’s enforcement action,” he said. “This settlement will allow St. Paul Foundry to continue to focus on delivering for our customers and providing well-paying jobs in St. Paul.”
Residents have been frustrated in their attempts to learn more about the violations and settlement, according to Danielle Swift, a community organizer with Frogtown Neighborhood Association. Sahan Journal first reported on the EPA inspection and violations in February 2024.
The EPA held subsequent meetings with neighbors, but communication has been sparse, Swift said. The settlement feels like the bare minimum, she told Sahan Journal.
“They’re not the ones who are impacted,” Swift said of the EPA. “Maybe they would feel differently if it was in their backyard.”
Devices to control pollution were under performing
According to the violations issued by the EPA, the foundry submitted documents to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) showing that at least one of its baghouses consistently had pressure levels outside of acceptable operating range over three six-month periods from 2021 to mid-2022. Baghouses are pollution-control devices that send dust and gases through fabric filters; pressure levels determine how effective the filter is, with high pressure indicating a clogged filter and low pressure indicating there could be leaks in the filter.
For two of the six-month periods, the baghouse pressure level was outside of operating range for every one of the 91 times it was measured, according to the EPA, which also cited the foundry for failing to address those issues.
As part of the settlement, St. Paul Brass has installed high-efficiency air filters to their baghouses designed to reduce lead and smog pollution known as particulate matter, according to the EPA. The company must also limit lead level content in the metals it produces.
The MPCA installed a new air quality monitor on the roof of the nearby Wilder Foundation Child Development Center in June to evaluate the facility moving forward. The MPCA worked with the Frogtown Neighborhood Association to find a spot for the monitor, Swift said.
“EPA works side-by-side with state agencies to protect human health and the environment,” EPA Region 5 Administrator Anne Vogel said in a written statement. “We’re working closely with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to ensure St. Paul residents can breathe safely. This settlement will significantly reduce emissions and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will monitor air quality in the area going forward.”
The MPCA issued an operating permit that never expires to St. Paul Brass in 2007. The company began as a blacksmith shop in 1869, according to the permit, and has operated in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood for more than 60 years.
The foundry is required to apply for a new MPCA permit for its upgraded pollution control equipment, according to the EPA.
The MPCA said its data from the monitor installed in June suggests the foundry has not exceeded air pollution limits this summer. The state agency said it now has more staffing focused on environmental justice areas like Frogtown and is more closely monitoring facilities in those communities. The MPCA received increased funding from state lawmakers for enforcement in 2024.
St. Paul Brass produces aluminum, brass and bronze castings for commercial and military clients, according to its website. The company claims to be the oldest manufacturer in Minnesota.
St. Paul Brass is located across the street from a mosque, Masjid Al-Ihsan, and is surrounded by apartments, houses and local businesses. The neighborhood is considered an environmental justice area by the state because more than 40% of residents are people of color and more than 35% of households are low income.
The settlement comes just over a year after the EPA concluded an enforcement action at Smith Foundry in south Minneapolis. The EPA fined Smith Foundry $80,000 and ordered it to stop melting and casting metal. The company closed the facility shortly afterward, a move that was celebrated in the East Phillips neighborhood. Both East Phillips and Frogtown are diverse, working-class communities that were formerly redlined in a manner that put people of color near polluting industries.
The MPCA is currently in a lengthy legal battle with Northern Iron and Machine, another metal foundry accused of pollution violations on St. Paul’s East Side.
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the EPA has been reduced in size by nearly 25%, with cuts to the department focused on environmental justice. The Department of Justice in February banned the use of supplemental environmental projects, a tool the EPA used to compel parties in settlements to complete an initiative that would benefit the community harmed by pollution.
Neighbors struggle to receive information
Communicating with the EPA has been a challenge, Swift said. The Frogtown Neighborhood Association reached out to the agency for an update last week, but only received a vague response.
“It doesn’t feel good; it doesn’t feel like partnership,” she said.
The EPA used a mobile unit to monitor emissions at the facility from June to December 2024, and found that the facility was in compliance with national lead emissions standards, according to an EPA news release.
The neighborhood association requested information from that monitoring effort, and eventually received raw data from the EPA, Swift said. But it was hard to decipher, and they had to partner with a citizen-scientist group to understand it. The group is trying to translate that information into layman’s terms and into the many languages spoken in the neighborhood, Swift said.
Christian Preston lives just south of the foundry with his wife and young daughter. He told Sahan Journal he first noticed the foundry after moving into the neighborhood seven years ago because of a foul smell in the air. The EPA’s settlement with no financial penalty doesn’t seem like a good resolution, he said.
“That’s a pretty disappointing settlement to be honest, because it doesn’t take into account any of the harm done,” he said.
Preston, who moved to the United States from England 10 years ago, has a sinking feeling the foundry has had a negative impact on his community and the people he cares about. He knows neighbors who have lived nearby their whole lives and suffer from chronic health issues. While they can’t be sure the facility is the cause, the cumulative impact weighs on people’s minds.
“My ultimate goal would be for pollution creating centers like this to not be near where people are living and growing up,” Preston said.
