The announcement comes after an agreement between the foundry and the Environmental Protection Agency to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.
MINNEAPOLIS — A foundry accused of violating federal air standards and impacting the health of Minneapolis will cease its furnace and iron casting operations within a year and pay a fine after negotiating a settlement with federal pollution officials.
The century-old Smith Foundry has been under fire in recent years from residents in the East Phillips neighborhood and environmental activists for allegedly exceeding pollution limits spelled out in permits issued by the state of Minnesota. A coalition of environmental safety advocates and neighborhood groups was formed with the goal of shutting down the 100-year-old foundry, saying 100 years of emissions have had the cumulative effect of causing health issues in the surrounding areas.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with the Smith Foundry to resolve the alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. Smith agreed to shut down its furnace and casting operation and convert to a metal finishing facility, which will drastically reduce emissions. Until that time, the foundry will limit the total amount of liquid metal poured at the remaining lines to 2,884 tons before they are shut down.
Smith will also pay a $80,000 penalty, and develop and implement an updated operations and equipment maintenance plan.
“This settlement is an important step toward protecting the health and well-being of residents in the East Phillips community,” said Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Kristina Kessler in a released statement. “The MPCA remains invested in the community and will monitor, in partnership with the EPA, ongoing emissions from Smith Foundry and air quality in the East Phillips neighborhood to ensure compliance with state and federal laws.”
Things came to a head in May of 2023 after resident complaints prompted an unannounced inspection by EPA investigators. The EPA accused Smith Foundry of failing to properly operate its pollution control equipment and maintain required records. The agency also said the boundary was exceeding particulate matter emission limits for its industrial process equipment and violating airborne particulate matter rules.
“I really think there’s more pollution coming out than what they’re saying or guessing,” resident Cassandra Holmes of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute told KARE following the EPA inspection. Holmes’s son Trinidad Flores died in 2013 at the age of 16 from a heart ailment. She blames the cumulative pollution from all the industrial sites in the area, including the foundry.
KARE 11 has reached out to Smith Foundry for a reaction to today’s EPA settlement but have not received a response.
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