East Side residents pack courtroom in Northern Iron permit fight

East Side residents gather outside the Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings following Tuesday's hearing in Northern Iron's permit revocation case. Photo: Becca Gilbuena

Dozens of East Side residents and environmental advocates packed a St. Paul courtroom Tuesday morning as Northern Iron tried to convince a judge to throw out the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's effort to revoke the foundry's air permit.

While the hearing focused on legal arguments, residents said they showed up to remind the court and state officials what's really at stake: the health of the neighborhood surrounding the foundry.

"We demand transparency about the toxins in our air and soil," said East Side resident Sara Degner Riveros. "As neighbors, we are counting on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to protect us."

Northern Iron is asking an administrative law judge to end the permit revocation case without a full evidentiary hearing. A decision on that request will come later.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is seeking to revoke the facility's air permit, alleging repeated compliance violations and failures to provide required information. Photo: Becca Gilbuena

The hearing is the latest chapter in a years-long fight over pollution from the foundry, which sits in a residential neighborhood near several schools. In June 2025, the MPCA moved to revoke Northern Iron's air permit, alleging the company repeatedly failed to provide required information, submitted false or misleading information and refused to correct ongoing compliance problems.

According to the agency, Northern Iron withheld records related to emissions testing and continued submitting permit applications based on assumptions that emissions were fully contained, despite evidence showing problems with the facility's building capture system.

Northern Iron disputes those allegations, accusing the MPCA of overreach. For many residents, however, Tuesday wasn't just about one company. They say it's about decades of environmental injustice on St. Paul's East Side and other majority Black, brown and immigrant communities in the Twin Cities.

"The Eastside has carried the burden of industrial pollution for generations," said Danielle Swift, an East Side resident and community organizer with the Frogtown Neighborhood Association. "We deserve clean air, transparent information about what facilities are releasing into our neighborhoods, and a process that puts residents' health ahead of polluters' profits."

Ramsey County Commissioner Mai Chong Xiong said the neighborhood has experienced generations of pollution and health disparities while raising concerns about the impact on children with asthma.

Community leaders credited years of organizing for bringing the case this far.

"While we applaud the MPCA for working to pull their permits, we know this is happening because the people of East Side have stood up and said, 'No more,'" said Tracy Molm of the Climate Justice Committee.

No ruling was issued Tuesday. The judge is expected to decide the motion at a later date. In the meantime, residents say they'll continue pushing for a full review of the company's environmental record and greater accountability for pollution in their neighborhood.