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Working with partners to restore and protect Minnesota's waters






"September 2025"

Jesse Martus stands in the new stormwater garden in Duluth's Hartley Park on Aug. 12.
MPCA helps tap funding streams to create green infrastructure

In the middle of Duluth sits Hartley Park, 640 acres of wooded land that residents cherish and use to hike, ski, and bike. It's the home of a popular nature preschool and community education. Water in the park flows to Tischer Creek, a coldwater trout stream that empties into Lake Superior on the grounds of Glensheen mansion, Duluth’s most famous historic home.

When St. Louis County started to plan road construction near the park in 2021, the MPCA’s Jesse Martus saw an opportunity not just to improve stormwater runoff in the park but also to provide better protections for Lake Superior and to get more people in the community thinking about their impact on local ecosystems.

“We need to rethink stormwater,” he said. “You can live in an urban area, and if you take care of it, it can be amazing. Too often, people see urban tributaries just as stormwater conveyance systems. But we need to start seeing these places as real streams, with life and value, not just pipes for water to run through.”

Martus works in the MPCA’s Watershed Division as a coordinator for Lake Superior Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP), which works with dozens of agencies to protect the lake’s ecosystem. Specifically, Martus identifies federal funding opportunities, such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), and in 2020, he began reaching out to cities and counties to explain those opportunities.

*Feature article* [ [link removed] ]


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Flooded street in small town
How to minimize pollution and health risks caused by floods

Flooding conditions can be destructive in a variety of ways. One concern is hazardous materials being swept up by floodwaters and spread around, posing risks to the environment and to human health. Here are some strategies for minimizing this type of pollution and damage.

Household hazardous waste

If flooding is predicted for your community, move hazardous household products [ [link removed] ] out of areas of your home that are most likely to be flooded, such as garages and basements. Take any products you no longer need to your county's hazardous waste disposal facility. Check for:


* paints, varnish, paint thinner, and furniture stripper
* batteries
* furniture polish, bleach, and spot removers
* motor oil, gasoline, and antifreeze
* weed killers, insecticides, and fertilizers
* drain, oven, and floor cleaners
* disinfectants and ammonia
* pharmaceuticals, nail polish and remover, and sharps

Move items such as vehicle batteries and propane tanks to higher ground. Keep canned goods and other foodstuff out of harm’s way. If these come in contact with flood waters, you should consider them unsafe to eat and throw them out.

Your county's environmental office will be able to provide further guidance on the disposal of household hazardous waste.

Contact the Minnesota State Duty Officer at 651-649-5451 or toll-free at 800-422-0798 to report spills of hazardous materials and wastes.

Read the feature article for more information, including tips for:


* fuel storage tanks
* manure storage
* industrial hazardous waste
* more resources

*Feature article* [ [link removed] ]


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Deadline Sept. 10

MPCA extends comment period for Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) released the draft 2025 Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy on June 14. The updated strategy shows the state’s progress in reducing nutrients and ways to achieve Minnesota’s water quality goals. The public is invited to comment on the draft through *Sept. 10, 2025*.

The updated strategy documents a decade’s worth of progress that has helped reduce phosphorus in our water, shows mixed results on nitrogen, and identifies where work should be intensified.

*Public comment form* [ [link removed] ]


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Lisa Weidemann
MPCA’s Lisa Weidemann builds bridge between agency and public

As if it weren’t enough to spend her time supporting the recent firefighting efforts in northeast Minnesota, Lisa Weidemann helps build connections between Minnesota residents and the agency’s work as a community affairs specialist with the MPCA. Whether she’s hosting information sessions online or facilitating public meetings, she’s often the first point of contact for community questions.

*Q&A feature article* [ [link removed] ]


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Francesca Crego

Francesca "Frannie" Crego

Bike rides along the Mississippi River lead to lessons on water quality

Francesca Crego, or Frannie, fondly recalls bike rides along the Mississippi River’s edge with her family. Growing up in the city, Frannie appreciated the feeling of mysticality brought by the river’s presence. As she got older, she began to recognize the significance of this river, thinking, “I live a mile away from a river that connects the whole country, from top to bottom. Realizing that helped me become aware of how much water connects us all.”

In her teens, she found herself wanting to join in on the stewardship of these natural spaces. Frannie joined the Mississippi River Green Team [ [link removed] ], a youth work crew that takes care of parks throughout the city.

*Feature article* [ [link removed] ]


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Jen Widmer, water resources engineer and a board member of the Ney Nature Center, presenting to a group in front of a wetland near her home.

Jen Widmer, water resources engineer and a board member of the Ney Nature Center.

Childhood memories inspire wetland restoration

Throughout her life, Jen Widmer has felt a deep connection to wetlands. As a child, she played broomball on the ice of a wetland near her home. She once attempted swimming in the wetland but was joined by leeches. Despite finding the water “gross,” Widmer recalls fond memories spent along the water’s edge, where she watched geese and other waterfowl.

Now a water resources engineer and a board member of the Ney Nature Center, Widmer gets to restore some of those wetlands that had an influence on her.

*Feature article* [ [link removed] ]


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MPCA reports enforcement actions that affect water health across state

The MPCA posts news releases about enforcement actions on its website. Recent headlines include:


* Aspen Hills Homeowners Association’s wastewater treatment plant fined $15,000 for water permit violations
* Blue Earth County and Mathiowetz Construction Company fined more than $35,000 for stormwater violations from sediment discharge into the Blue Earth River
* Grand Rapids man fined $13,750 for construction stormwater and wetland violations near Bigfork in Itasca County
* Septic system tank manufacturer fined $75,000 for potential sealing issue, to offer tank warranty to customers
* Stormwater and wetland violations behind nearly $43,000 in fines for Prime Homes and owner
* Ramsey and Lino Lakes companies fined more than $40,000 for construction stormwater violations

*News and stories* [ [link removed] ]






In the news
Plants grow near a lake shoreline
DNR tool measures health of lakeshore properties

The Minnesota DNR offers several resources to lakeshore property owners to help maintain or restore the health of their shorelines. One – the Score Your Shore tool [ [link removed] ] – was designed to help people assess the condition of their properties without the help of an expert. — East Metro Water [ [link removed] ]

Data centers face new regulations, some worry they fall short of protecting water, residents

State lawmakers extended a lucrative tax break that helps lure data centers to Minnesota in a compromise bill passed during a special session in June. But they also added new regulations on the booming data center industry aimed at protecting the environment, including the state’s water supply and climate goals, as well as electricity customers. — Minnesota Public Radio News [ [link removed] ]

Sheila Johnston in a kayak

Sheila Johnston paddles the Upper Gull chain of lakes. MPR News

'Loon lady' turns passion into action to protect Minnesota's iconic bird

When Sheila Johnston retired with her husband to a home on Upper Gull Lake, she blended her interests in kayaking and photography and spent hours on the lake watching and photographing loons. Her hobby grew to a passion as she learned of the challenges loons face from nature and humans. — Minnesota Public Radio News [ [link removed] ]

*Get the lead out of fishing tackle* [ [link removed] ]


Salt, safety, and water: The science of Minnesota’s complex chloride challenges

The ways in which salt affects lakes are complex and interconnected, and a team from the Science Museum of Minnesota’s St. Croix Watershed Research Station seeks to better understand some of salt’s ripple effects. Too much salt is known to directly harm living things in lakes, with other studies showing increased chloride directly linked to declines in the diversity and abundance of some aquatic organisms. — Agate magazine [ [link removed] ]

World’s largest environmental cleanup of its kind resumes on St. Louis River

The world’s biggest environmental cleanup of its kind has resumed on the Thomson Reservoir as federal and state agencies seek to remediate industrial pollutants along Lake Superior’s largest river. “Our targets here really are those bugs and the fish. So we’re looking at the chemistry and those contaminants, and how they move through the food chain,” said LaRae Lehto, a contaminated sediment program coordinator for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which is working alongside the EPA to remediate the river. — Pine Journal [ [link removed] ] (Cloquet)

Augusta Lake is considered one of the dirtiest lakes in Minnesota

Each fall, thousands of cormorants gather in the trees along the shores of Augusta Lake in Mendota Heights. However, the water below them has been paying the ultimate price. A recent study revealed that the birds’ droppings are polluting the lake. — KARE 11 [ [link removed] ]

A ‘C’ ranking for the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes is a triumph of environmental restoration

The most visited slice of nature in Minnesota isn’t in a state or national park. It’s not an old-growth forest or patch of surviving prairie. It’s the chain of four lakes that starts with Cedar and ends with Lake Harriet in the heart of Minneapolis. A forward-thinking project reversed decades of environmental degradation. — Minnesota Star Tribune [ [link removed] ]






Ribbon-cutting ceremony at Munger Landing

Photo provided by City of Duluth

*A day to celebrate along St. Louis River*

Multiple media outlets [ [link removed] ] helped shine a light on restoration work in Duluth along the St. Louis River on Aug. 5. The Munger Landing Great Lakes Legacy Act project removed more than 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, restored open water habitat, restored the motorized boat landing, and installed a new sandy kayak landing.  Following a history of legacy pollution, this area of the St. Louis River is now safe for recreation. MPCA staff who participated in the city’s ribbon-cutting ceremony included LaRae Lehto, contaminated sediments coordinator; Crague Biglow, Superfund Unit 2 supervisor; Pam Anderson, Remediation Division director; Brad Leick, project manager; and Mark Elliott, technical lead.






The MPCA Waterfront Bulletin newsletter welcomes news from partners about
watershed projects, people, and upcoming events throughout Minnesota.

Email submissions to: [email protected].






The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is a state agency committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate.








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