MINNEAPOLIS — A community meeting in the East Phillips neighborhood grew testy Monday night when residents confronted state and federal officials about reported pollution by Smith Foundry, an iron plant that has operated in South Minneapolis for a century.
This issue exploded into public view earlier this month, when the nonprofit media outlet Sahan Journal obtained Environmental Protection Agency filings showing that Smith Foundry violated the federal Clean Air Act numerous times from 2018 to 2023. According to reporting by Sahan Journal's Andrew Hazzard, "the foundry regularly emitted nearly twice the amount of air pollution allowed by state permits, failed to properly maintain equipment designed to reduce pollution, and did not notify the state about equipment failures as required."
At Monday's community meeting, which was hosted by the East Phillips Improvement Coalition and the MPCA, neighbors expressed concerns about health impacts from the plant — with some going as far as to call for the total shutdown of the facility.
Tania Rivera, a program manager at Circulo de Amigos Child Care Center across the street from Smith Foundry, said in an interview before the meeting that "very strong fumes and odors" have been "increasing over the last couple of years." She said she has filed complaints with the city, state and federal government.
"It makes you wonder how that has impacted your health," Rivera said. "[The EPA's finding] was a bit of relief, to know that our suspicions were finally confirmed and validated and that it was something that would be significant enough to bring awareness and bring change."
Brian Dickens with EPA Region 5 confirmed during the meeting Monday that his agency "found some issues" during an unannounced visit to Smith Foundry in May 2023. Although he said he could not reveal details about the EPA's investigation, he did say the process could ultimately result in penalties or a consent decree.
During the same presentation, however, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials said they did not find elevated pollution levels during their own testing of Smith Foundry. Still, the agency has pledged to work with the EPA to learn more about how they arrived at their figures, and it has also promised to add monitors closer to Smith Foundry over the next few weeks. Smith Foundry is currently applying for a renewed permit through the MPCA.
"We acknowledge your frustrations," MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler told the audience at the start of the meeting. "We're here today with our federal partners, and we want to make sure we are working in partnership with you across the jurisdictions to make sure we are doing what we can to address the community concerns."
Smith Foundry, which is located on East 28th Street, had representatives in attendance at the meeting.
Earlier on Monday afternoon, Smith Foundry President Adolfo Quiroga told KARE 11 in an interview that there has been a "misunderstanding between the MPCA reporting structure and the way the EPA is reading it." He said that misunderstanding relates to the figures for allowable emission levels.
"What happened on the reporting is combining two sources, melting and cooling. But when you split them," Quiroga said, "we are fine. It is a fundamental question in the reporting that was misread."
The EPA said additional stack testing is scheduled for mid-December.
Quiroga says he he expects the next round of tests to "clarify" the situation for the public.
"We are not polluting and we are committed to having a better neighborhood," Quiroga said.
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