State seeks to cancel permit for St. Paul's Northern Iron foundry
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has begun the process of canceling the operating permit for a St. Paul metal foundry that employs some 80 United Steelworkers on the city's East Side.
Officials with Lawton Standard, which owns the Northern Iron and Machine foundry in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, received notice from the MPCA on Wednesday that they had officially run afoul of the regulatory agency, which has sought for years to enforce deeper controls over emissions and heavily reduce foundry production.
'After prolonged attempts to get necessary information from Northern Iron, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today took the first steps to revoke the company's operating permit,' reads a written statement from the MPCA. 'We have repeatedly requested information required under state law for us to issue a permit that would allow Northern Iron to operate in a way that protects human health and the environment. … We do not have reasonable assurance that the company can comply with a permit.'
The permit revocation is not immediate.
The MPCA described it as a 'rare and lengthy process' that likely will entail a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge. The foundry, which dates to 1906, is allowed to maintain its operations throughout that process.
The MPCA fined Northern Iron $41,500 in 2023 for out-of-date pollution control equipment, as well as equipment updated without a permit. A more recent MPCA investigation tested soot collecting on homes near the foundry and found toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and manganese, which residents in a recent legal action have described as evidence it originated from the Forest Street metal plant.
Calling the company's PurpleAir testing equipment outdated, the MPCA issued an April 2024 order limiting Northern Iron's material processing to 10 tons per day, or roughly a third of normal production. That limit held until it was lifted by a July 2024 decision from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro.
Company officials maintain their monitors show dust particles and lead levels to be well within state standards, and that the MPCA has misinterpreted the data.
In a written statement Wednesday, they said revoking their existing operating permit without processing the company's new permit application is 'unprecedented' and 'not supported by any evidence or data from extensive environmental monitoring of the facility.'
The MPCA 'has officially determined that it wants to shut down a business, lay off people, and needlessly scare the community by ignoring facts, data, and a judge's decisions,' they wrote. 'The MPCA is not following the rule of law as a regulator, which is unacceptable.'
In March, residents from the Payne-Phalen neighborhood filed a class action lawsuit against the foundry owners in Ramsey County District Court, claiming emissions have lowered their home values, damaged property and left them dealing with soot and dust on their houses.
Lawton Standard, which is based in DePere, Wis. and maintains foundries in six states, purchased the Northern Iron foundry in August 2022. The foundry makes casings and custom metal parts for national clients.
St. Paul's Maxfield Elementary breaks ground on 'community schoolyard'
Ex-teacher of Hmong College Prep Academy in St. Paul sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with student
Four candidates file for Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council
Canadian wildfire smoke causes 'very unhealthy' conditions in American Midwest and reaches Europe
40 St. Paul street lights stripped of copper wiring, though reports are down overall
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
State seeks to cancel permit for St. Paul's Northern Iron foundry
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has begun the process of canceling the operating permit for a St. Paul metal foundry that employs some 80 United Steelworkers on the city's East Side. Officials with Lawton Standard, which owns the Northern Iron and Machine foundry in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, received notice from the MPCA on Wednesday that they had officially run afoul of the regulatory agency, which has sought for years to enforce deeper controls over emissions and heavily reduce foundry production. 'After prolonged attempts to get necessary information from Northern Iron, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today took the first steps to revoke the company's operating permit,' reads a written statement from the MPCA. 'We have repeatedly requested information required under state law for us to issue a permit that would allow Northern Iron to operate in a way that protects human health and the environment. … We do not have reasonable assurance that the company can comply with a permit.' The permit revocation is not immediate. The MPCA described it as a 'rare and lengthy process' that likely will entail a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge. The foundry, which dates to 1906, is allowed to maintain its operations throughout that process. The MPCA fined Northern Iron $41,500 in 2023 for out-of-date pollution control equipment, as well as equipment updated without a permit. A more recent MPCA investigation tested soot collecting on homes near the foundry and found toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and manganese, which residents in a recent legal action have described as evidence it originated from the Forest Street metal plant. Calling the company's PurpleAir testing equipment outdated, the MPCA issued an April 2024 order limiting Northern Iron's material processing to 10 tons per day, or roughly a third of normal production. That limit held until it was lifted by a July 2024 decision from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro. Company officials maintain their monitors show dust particles and lead levels to be well within state standards, and that the MPCA has misinterpreted the data. In a written statement Wednesday, they said revoking their existing operating permit without processing the company's new permit application is 'unprecedented' and 'not supported by any evidence or data from extensive environmental monitoring of the facility.' The MPCA 'has officially determined that it wants to shut down a business, lay off people, and needlessly scare the community by ignoring facts, data, and a judge's decisions,' they wrote. 'The MPCA is not following the rule of law as a regulator, which is unacceptable.' In March, residents from the Payne-Phalen neighborhood filed a class action lawsuit against the foundry owners in Ramsey County District Court, claiming emissions have lowered their home values, damaged property and left them dealing with soot and dust on their houses. Lawton Standard, which is based in DePere, Wis. and maintains foundries in six states, purchased the Northern Iron foundry in August 2022. The foundry makes casings and custom metal parts for national clients. St. Paul's Maxfield Elementary breaks ground on 'community schoolyard' Ex-teacher of Hmong College Prep Academy in St. Paul sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with student Four candidates file for Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council Canadian wildfire smoke causes 'very unhealthy' conditions in American Midwest and reaches Europe 40 St. Paul street lights stripped of copper wiring, though reports are down overall
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Businesses ‘locked' out of key to success unless Minnesota lawmakers act
The Brief A 2023 state law banned lead in a lot of products including toys, jewelry, cosmetics, and keys. It took effect in Jan. 2024, but the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency isn't enforcing it until this coming July. Key makers and retailers say there aren't viable alternatives at this point. MPCA says some companies have alternatives, but they're recommending the legislature delay enforcement for three years. Bills eliminating the ban on keys are making their way to conference committees for votes, so stakeholders are rallying for change. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The keys in your pocket are already illegal to replace in Minnesota. Enforcement coming soon The state isn't really enforcing a new law yet, but it will start as of July, and a lot of small businesses are hoping to unlock a change before lawmakers go home. A 2023 law banned the sale of lead in products like jewelry, toys and ban included keys, but the people who make keys say there's no way to do it without a little lead. "Approximately 75% of all products that we stock have become prohibited for sale," said Rob Justen of Doyle Security Products. Lead is the key to staying in business for Justen's business. But a Minnesota law could lock them out soon. "It really does make it illegal to sell or replace the very keys that Minnesotans use every day, your house keys, your car keys, your apartment key, your boat key," said Bruce Nustad of the Minnesota Retailers Association. Urgency arriving The law banning new lead keys took effect in January 2024, but the sense of urgency is new for retailers and security companies. "[The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency] has been gracious in its enforcement," Nustad said. "The issue of sort of pending doom hasn't risen until just now." A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to take keys out of the ban and their changes are bolted to bills still moving in the legislature's final week. Compromising on keys Key makers say there's no viable alternative to make functioning keys, but they're open to lead limits like California implemented back in 2001. "Going back to the California standard would legalize every key that's in your pocket today," Justen said. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is saying some companies are already using alternatives, but they're also recommending a three-year delay in enforcement to give these businesses a chance to catch up with new technology.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- CBS News
Key industry warns if Minnesota law doesn't change, businesses will be locked out of selling or manufacturing keys in the state
Minnesota lawmakers are racing against the clock with less than a week until the session ends Minnesota lawmakers are racing against the clock with less than a week until the session ends Minnesota lawmakers are racing against the clock with less than a week until the session ends A few years ago, Minnesota lawmakers banned keys and other consumer products with more than trace amounts of lead and cadmium in them. Now, industry leaders say they will be locked out of doing business in the state if the Legislature doesn't roll that back. Businesses that sell, make and distribute keys and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a news conference on Tuesday urged lawmakers to exempt them from that 2023 law, which the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is set to enforce beginning July 1. The one-sentence provision was tucked inside a big budget bill when it passed two years ago with little attention. But those pushing to repeal it say the consequences are too big to ignore. Industry leaders said the ban makes most keys on the market today noncompliant. "We are the only government in the entire universe that has this outlawed," said Rep. Bjorn Olson, R-Fairmont. "So if there was a store on the moon, you could buy keys at that store." There are proposals to exempt the keys subject to end-of-session negotiations as lawmakers are racing to complete their work on time with less than a week left to go before session must end. They need to fine tune the budget by next Monday or they'll run into overtime. But the MPCA does not want to totally reverse course, but is open to delaying implementation by three years. Kirk Koudelka, assistant commissioner for the agency, pointed to a health department study that found 15 investigations of children with elevated blood lead levels linked to keys between 2015 and 2019. He said the agency is open to a law delaying implementation by three years. "Lead and cadmium both can cause serious problems for brain health and human development, especially in children, and there's no amount of lead that's considered safe for children," he explained in an interview. He said there are alternatives on the market that don't have the toxic metals in them and instead use copper, nickel or stainless steel with less than .009% lead in them, the benchmark according to the law. That is a more strict metric than California's rule barring keys with more than 1.5% lead in them. The industry refuted the claim that there were any viable, cost-effective alternatives that could be brought on the market at scale. "The alternative right now is to use access control. You can get a wireless lock. We manufacture, make wireless locks that cost $1,500 to $2,500," said Nick Johnson with Assa Abloy, a global key manufacturer. "You can't put a wireless lock that costs that amount on every single door in a school, in a government town hall. It's just not feasible. There is not a budget out there for that." The focus of enforcement starting July 1, if there isn't a change, would be on the sellers and manufacturers not existing keys consumers use in everyday life. But Koudelka said MPCA has told lawmakers to extend the deadline. "We agree that there should be some more time, and we've recommended more time to the legislature to add on so we can make the change and still protect families and children and allowing for key companies to make the transition," Koudelka said.
