Federal regulator steps in to protect Minnesota's wild rice stands

EPA is forcing Minnesota to add 30 polluted waterways for cleanup

Apr 30, 20210

Richard Tsong-Taatarii • Star Tribune count

Federal regulators have identified 30 wild rice waters across Minnesota for the official list of polluted waters that require fixing.

Wild rice waters contaminated with sulfate from industrial pollution have never been included on Minnesota's long list of officially polluted waters that require fixing.

But they will be now - 30 of them across the state - thanks to federal regulators who stepped in to say the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was breaking federal law by not listing them as impaired.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week sent the MPCA a list of 30 wild rice waters that don't meet the state's water quality standard for sulfate and said it plans to add them to Minnesota's roster of impaired waters. It could add more in the future, the EPA said.

https://www.startribune.com/federal-regulator-steps-in-to-protect-minnesota-s-wild-rice-stands/600051813/