Residents celebrate as Smith Foundry announces its closure in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood

A century-old metal foundry that polluted a diverse south Minneapolis neighborhood for years will close next month in an unexpected move that is bringing relief to residents.

Smith Foundry will cease all operations by August 15, the company announced last week. It’s a change of course from June, when the company announced plans to convert the foundry into a metal finishing facility after reaching a settlement and paying an $80,000 fine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency .

The settlement was celebrated by residents of the East Phillips neighborhood, who complained about pollution from the foundry for decades. Many residents had remained worried about the company’s plans to become a metal finishing facility, and feared it would continue to emit harmful pollution. Now, they’re breathing easier.

“I felt a relief, a relief that they were closing and our community and our children at Little Earth will be able to breathe,” said Jolene Jones, a resident of Little Earth of United Tribes in the East Phillips neighborhood.

Jones grew up in Little Earth and recalls becoming aware of Smith Foundry as a teenager. She could taste and smell something acrid in the air when she played outside. That kind of facility should have never been allowed in a residential neighborhood, she said, and is a prime example of environmental racism.

East Phillips is one of the most diverse areas in Minnesota; more than 80% of residents are people of color and 60% speak a language other than English at home, according to demographers with Minnesota Compass .

“It’s atrocious that it took this long for them to close it,” Jones said.

The EPA conducted a surprise inspection of Smith Foundry in May 2023, and issued a notice of violations in August documenting nine Clean Air Act violations . The EPA said that between 2018 and 2023, the foundry emitted nearly twice the amount of particulate matter allowed by its state-issued permit, and also failed to maintain proper records.

Smith Foundry announced its closure in a July 26 statement that said all furnace melting operations ceased that day, and that remaining foundry work will end by August 15. About 50 people work at Smith Foundry.

Company president Adolfo Quiroga said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was making “unreasonable demands” as Smith Foundry applied for an air permit that would allow it to convert into a metal finishing facility. Quiroga works for Zynik Capital, which bought Smith Foundry in 2022 from its longtime local owner, Neil Ahlstrom. He said the company is left with no choice but to close, and that he “deeply regrets” the impact it will have on workers.

“They (the MPCA) never informed us they had any concerns about the foundry, its operations, or its existence in the neighborhood, which has operated in Minneapolis for over one hundred years,” Quiroga said.

The company had previously agreed to end all foundry operations by June 2025 in its settlement with the EPA.

The MPCA said in order for Smith Foundry to receive an air quality permit in East Phillips, it needed to demonstrate that it could operate while meeting air quality standards set by the federal Clean Air Act, because a 2008 state law requires extra environmental protections for the neighborhood due to its history of pollution.

“The company informed the agency today that it will shut down all operations by August 15, 2024, rather than provide information necessary for an operating air permit,” the MPCA said in a statement issued July 26.

Residential concerns about Smith Foundry aren’t new. In the mid-1990s, residents worked with the company to create a “good neighbor agreement” after the facility appeared on an EPA list of toxic sites. In 2006, the MPCA fined the foundry $13,871 for pollution and recordkeeping violations.

Years of issues took their toll on the community, Jones believes. East Phillips has some of the highest rates of asthma and heart issues in the state, according to Minnesota Department of Health data.

Several neighborhood residents, including Jones, were critical of the MPCA when Sahan Journal first reported last year on Smith Foundry’s EPA violations. The state should have acted on community complaints before federal regulators had to get involved, Jones said.

EPA inspectors visited Smith Foundry and its nextdoor neighbor, asphalt producer Bituminous Roadways in May 2023. Bituminous Roadways closed its south Minneapolis location this spring, which should help with air quality in the area.

“With both of them gone, our community is going to be able to breathe,” Jones said.

City Council Member Jason Chavez grew up in East Phillips and represents the area today. In an email to constituents, he called the closure announcement a huge victory for residents.

“I am particularly proud of our residents for their continued push on this issue. There is still more left to do, but this is a moment to celebrate,” Chavez said.

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