Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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When Allison Lind of Minneapolis was evaluating day cares for her son Eli, now 2 1/2, she needed a spreadsheet to manage her extensive search criteria for a safe, caring and educational facility.
What wasn't on her checklist — and shouldn't have needed to be — was nearby air pollution readings. Lind, a nurse, is now lamenting her confidence in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to enforce air quality standards around her neighborhood.
Eli attends the Circulo de Amigos child care center in south Minneapolis. While he loves it, the facility is located across Cedar Avenue from an iron foundry that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently alleged "has been violating air emissions laws since at least 2018," according to a Nov. 7 Star Tribune report. The Sahan Journal first published the EPA findings.
It's important to note that the MPCA on Tuesday vigorously challenged the EPA's conclusions and methodology. Still, Lind is understandably worried about potential impact on her son's health and is asking a valid question: Where was the MPCA?
"I thought I could trust [an agency] that has pollution control in their name to do pollution control," Lind told an editorial writer.
Lind's concerns are echoed by others who live or work near the foundry — some of whom have complained about air quality for years — and need to be taken seriously by state lawmakers. While there are community meetings planned, this involves a state agency's performance and public health.