Northern Metals nears settlement with Minnesota environmental agency

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the city of Minneapolis are close to signing a settlement with Northern Metal Recycling that would require the metals recycler to relocate its auto shredder operation from its existing location in North Minneapolis to a nonmetropolitan area within the next three years.

The settlement follows several years of strained relations between the recycling company and government officials that has included a flurry of lawsuits from both sides. The complaints center on air emissions generated at the metal recycler’s auto shredder.

Last August, Ramsey County, Minnesota, District Court Judge John Guthmann ordered Northern Metals to shut down its metals recovery plant and an attached rain and snow shed. The ruling added that the operations could not be used until the MPCA issued a modified air permit for the facility or the company proved to the agency that the recovery plant does not cause or contribute to the ongoing air quality violations in the area. (For more details on that decision, click here.) 

According to local press reports, the settlement could allow Northern Metals to operate at its existing location for as long as three years.

Tests taken over the past several years in the area where Northern Metals operates has found higher than acceptable levels of lead in the air. In addition to the scrap yard, several other industrial sources could be contributing to the higher than permitted lead levels.

Sarah Kilgriff from the MPCA's air section says the settlement, which still needs to be “ironed out,” includes Northern Metals contributing money toward community projects, paying for air monitoring of the location, reimbursing the MPA for legal fees and having the shredder moved to a nonmetropolitan location.

State officials say they hope to finalize the settlement in the coming weeks.

A spokesman for Northern Metals’ parent company, EMR, headquartered in the United Kingdom, says, “Unfortunately, we are unable to comment at the moment as settlement discussions are still ongoing. We will provide more information at a later date.”