Description
Tracking industrial emissions
In Minnesota, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issues air emissions permits to industrial buildings. During the permitting process, the MPCA collects data from the facilities’ annual emissions. The MPCA maintains a public database of air emissions data for these facilities for:
- Criteria air pollutants
- Air toxics
- Greenhouse gasses
Learn more about the MPCA public air emission data.
What we’re doing
We use the MPCA emissions registry for Pollution Control Annual Registration (PCAR) billing. This program charges facilities based on how much pollution their equipment creates. In 2025, the City of Minneapolis started charging a new PCAR fee. This fee is charged for emissions such as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. These emissions are from industrial sources and come from burning fuel. The revenue from the fee goes to the Green Cost Share program. This program provides grants for property upgrades. These upgrades improve the environment and lower energy costs. We use pollution data to see where the biggest problems are. This helps us decide where to offer help through the Green Cost Share program.