Neighbors of a St. Paul metal foundry that state regulators are pushing to close want to see the health of the community prioritized.
Northern Iron and Machine, a century-old metal foundry on the city’s East Side, has been in a bitter and complex legal battle with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for nearly two years. The state is moving forward with a legal process to revoke the foundry’s operations’ permit, which would shut down the facility. The case will be heard by the Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings starting with a prehearing conference on Nov. 6.
Northern Iron has two active lawsuits against the state, and has argued that Minnesota regulators are attempting to bully the foundry out of business. The legal fight began in 2023, when the MPCA fined Northern Iron $41,500 for failing to report multiple changes made to pollution control equipment over several years, a move that regulators say prevented them from conducting proper oversight.
The foundry abuts homes in a residential neighborhood off Phalen Boulevard. A house located directly across the street has a “Stop Northern Iron” lawn sign.
‘Keep our neighborhood healthy’
Residents pushed strollers and walked dogs around the neighborhood on a sunny fall afternoon.
One of them was Stephanie Kirsch, who has lived two blocks from the foundry for the past seven years. At times, she’s noticed black spots on the siding of her home, but otherwise hadn’t thought much about Northern Iron until its battle with state regulators hit the news. She doesn’t want the foundry workers to lose their jobs, but she does want the area to be nice for residents.
“I would hope that they would want to just keep our neighborhood healthy,” Kirsch told Sahan Journal.
Lah Pwee, who was handing out flyers looking for her missing cat, said she sometimes notices a foul smell in the air in the mornings. She’s not sure what’s causing the smell, and said she didn’t know much about Northern Iron. But news that it was in a dispute with the state over pollution added another item to her list of reasons to leave the neighborhood. She’s been wanting to move, she said, but pollution and air quality aren’t the first things on her mind.
“We have other things to worry about, like gun violence and trying to make a living,” Pwee said, gesturing to a memorial on the sidewalk for a deceased man.
The area around Northern Iron is very diverse, Pwee said, with many Karen, Hmong, Mexican, African American and white families. The neighborhood is deemed an environmental justice community by state law due to its diverse demographics and low income levels.
Ahmed Mohamed has run a tobacco shop near the foundry for 20 years. He doesn’t notice Northern Iron, and said the state should think about the jobs and taxes generated by the foundry when weighing regulatory moves.
“Instead of shutting down, I think it’s better to improve the air quality,” Ahmed told Sahan Journal.
Brittney Bruce, who lives in one of the homes directly across the street from Northern Iron, filed a class action lawsuit against the company in March. Bruce, in her lawsuit, says the foundry makes her fear for the health of her three children, and leaves soot on her windows that regularly needs cleaning.
Bruce’s class action suit is inviting neighbors to sign on and pursue damages. The suit argues Northern Iron is violating the wellbeing and property rights of the community. A discovery conference in the case is scheduled for Oct. 27.
Major source
Northern Iron is one of the most polluting regulated facilities in the state, according to data collected by the MPCA. In 2023, Northern Iron emitted more smog, known as fine particulate matter, and lead than any other facility in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.
That same year, Northern Iron was the seventh largest source of lead emissions in the state, according to MPCA data.
Northern Iron reported emitting 400 pounds of lead in 2023. Smith Foundry, the south Minneapolis facility that closed in 2024 after an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigation into Clean Air Act Violations, emitted 68 pounds of lead that year. Northern Iron emitted four times as much particulate matter as Smith Foundry did in 2023.
The foundry emitted 17 more tons of particulate matter than the second largest source in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, Tiller Corporation, which makes asphalt in Maple Grove.
Fine particulate matter is made up of minuscule liquid droplets and debris invisible to the eye that cause serious health issues when inhaled, according to the EPA. Exposure to particulate matter pollution can cause heart and respiratory issues. There is no safe amount of lead exposure, according to the EPA. Lead is particularly harmful to children and is known to cause developmental issues.
Jennifer Coates, an attorney for Dorsey and Whitney representing Northern Iron, downplayed the company’s emissions at an Oct. 6 hearing before Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro. She argued that the company’s lead emissions are below national and state standards.
Coates complained that the MPCA was badmouthing the company in the press, and appeared to reference an opinion column published by MinnPost that cited pollution rates posted on the MPCA’s public website.
“If we are the largest lead emitter in the Twin Cities but we are beneath the standard, don’t we require that second piece of information for context? Because simply saying we are the biggest lead emitter suggests that we are doing something wrong,” Coates said.
Legal cases continue
The Oct. 6 hearing centered on the second of two lawsuits Northern Iron has filed against the MPCA. Northern Iron first sued the state in May 2024 after regulators ordered the foundry to limit its operational hours over concerns of excessive pollution.
The second lawsuit, filed in July, accuses the MPCA of defamation and of violating the state’s data practices law. The suit also alleges that the agency violated a 2023 agreement with Northern Iron by attempting to limit its operations and revoke its permit.
Emily Anderson, an assistant attorney general representing the MPCA, urged Castro at the October hearing to dismiss the case, which she argued is “not legally viable.”
Northern Iron’s lawsuit says the state violated its data practices act when it included information about collecting soot samples from homes near the foundry. The MPCA tested the soot, and found it was likely coming from Northern Iron, according to a Feb. 10 letter filed in court proceedings.
Northern Iron’s legal team argues that the state should have redacted that section of the letter because it contains information that is still under investigation, making it non-public.
Anderson said the soot analysis was in a letter that is part of a court proceeding, which makes it public data by default.
Coates argued at the Oct. 6 hearing that the MPCA violated the 2023 stipulation agreement reached by the agency and Northern Iron when the company was fined $41,500. Both lawsuits filed by Northern Iron against the state claim the MPCA violated the agreement by pursuing further regulation against the company.
The permit revocation case before the Court of Administrative Hearings was filed in early October, Anderson said at the Oct. 6 hearing. The initial filing documents are not public, according to an MPCA spokesperson and the Court of Administrative Hearings. A prehearing conference in the case is set for Nov. 6, where a schedule will be established, according to a Court of Administrative hearings spokesperson. Any ruling by the administrative court can be appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
