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Committee receives report on pollution reduction and proposes environmental‑justice disclosure for land‑use reviews
Summary
A multi‑departmental work group presented findings and recommended an environmental‑justice disclosure/checklist to be used at land‑use touchpoints (conditional use permits, nonconforming expansions) to inform health review and potential incentives for pollution reduction; staff said MPCA and city departments could use the collected data.
City staff presented a legislative‑directive report on pollution reduction that examined sources of air pollution in Minneapolis, existing regulatory roles, and options for an environmental‑justice disclosure or checklist to inform land‑use and planning reviews.
Jenny Lansing and Meg McMahon summarized that most emissions in Hennepin County stem from on‑road mobile and nonpoint sources, with 3% from point sources. Staff noted 81 facilities in Minneapolis hold MPCA air emissions permits and described how a disclosure could be integrated into existing land‑use touchpoints (expansions of nonconforming uses, conditional use permits and certain planning reviews) so health staff can evaluate cumulative impacts.
The report looked at examples from Newark and Boston and recommended implementing an environmental‑justice disclosure into planning review processes rather than creating a new broad business licensing category (which staff said would be a heavy lift and could conflict with state law). Staff said the Health Department can absorb review work, CPED can collect the forms in current workflows, and the MPCA could use the collected information in cumulative‑impact assessments.
The committee received and filed the report; staff said next steps include coordinating internal processes, identifying staff capacity and piloting disclosure use at specific planning touchpoints.
