Met Council to pay MPR $3.5 million over LRT vibrations

The Metropolitan Council agreed to pay Minnesota Public Radio $3.5 million over noise and vibrations caused by the Green Line light rail in downtown St. Paul, according to a settlement announced Tuesday.

The regional planning body agreed to the deal after the two sides couldn't find a permanent solution to mitigate the vibrations at the MPR studios, according to a statement from the public radio station.

The nearly $1 billion Green Line opened in June 2014, connecting the downtowns of ­Minneapolis and St. Paul. It passes by MPR's headquarters at Cedar and 7th streets in St. Paul.

The settlement will help MPR address the effect of the light-rail line on its own, which could involve replacing equipment, further sound and vibration mitigation and finding other studio locations, MPR said.

MPR sued the Met Council over the issue in Ramsey County District Court, but the case was dismissed in November 2011. The lawsuit involved a dispute over the type of noise reduction that should be used by the Met Council, which built the light-rail line.

The agreement announced Tuesday ends a previous agreement between the two, reached in 2009, that called for both parties to address the impact of LRT vibration and noise on the radio station's operations. The agreement was made in "good faith," MPR said, but "proved impractical" because no viable solution could be agreed upon.

"We're pleased that we've reached this agreement, and we appreciate the Met Council working with us over the years to jointly test the impacts of the Green Line and to explore options for mitigation," said Dave Kansas, MPR's executive vice president, in a statement. "This settlement provides some of the resources we will need to address the interruptions caused by noise and vibration levels in our studios.

"We are committed to being good stewards of all resources entrusted to us, including our building and the equipment in it, and it's important that we can continue to use our broadcast facilities for years to come," Kansas said. "Now, we're focused on moving forward and determining how to address the impacts to our ­studios, and how to best support the musicians who perform and record here."

Wes Kooistra, Met Council regional administrator, said: "It was reasonable to assume the 2009 mitigation agreement could lead to ongoing expensive litigation into the future. I believe that reaching this new agreement serves the council's and the public's best interests."

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752