Eight Minneapolis council members back resolution to close HERC incinerator

A majority of Minneapolis City Council members say they want a Hennepin County-owned trash incinerator to close and signaled a willingness to improve recycling efforts in the city to reduce the amount of garbage being generated.

The City Council’s Climate and Infrastructure Committee held a public hearing Thursday on a resolution urging Hennepin County to close the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) by 2028.

The resolution renews the city’s commitment to achieving waste reduction goals and pledges to lobby for more recycling funding from the Minnesota Legislature. It also calls for city staff to examine landfills that might receive city trash should the HERC close, addressing a request made by county leaders.

The resolution has eight co-authors on the 13-member council. It will be placed before the committee of the whole on October 24 and the full council is likely to vote on it  October 31.

Consideration of the resolution comes two months after Hennepin County leaders asked the City Council to come up with a plan for managing Minneapolis trash should the HERC shutter. Last year, Hennepin County Commissioners requested staff to develop a plan to close the controversial incinerator, located next to Target Field, which burns trash to generate energy. The HERC burns about 45% of all trash generated in Hennepin County; 75% of what is burned at the incinerator comes from Minneapolis residents and businesses.

Lachelle Cunningham, a mother and chef who lives in North Minneapolis’ Jordan neighborhood, said polluting facilities like the HERC are a constant burden for residents. She urged the City Council to support closing the incinerator.

“It’s time for HERC to be held accountable, and the way forward is the move toward zero waste,” Cunningham said.

County commissioners want to close the HERC sometime between 2028 and 2040, and say they need help from cities and the state. Minneapolis City Council members are aiming for the early end of the window.

“Our job is to be responsive to what our community wants us to do,” Council Member Katie Cashman, who authored the resolution and chairs the climate and infrastructure committee, told Sahan Journal.

Residents call for closure

Public pressure to close the HERC increased in recent years, with community members packing county board meetings and Minnesota Legislators removing the facility’s designation as a renewable energy source.

Nearly 40 residents testified at the public hearing on the HERC, and the crowd of people urging the City Council to approve the resolution stretched into an overflow room.

“Environmental racism and redlining continues to impact kids today,” said Joshua Lewis, a climate justice organizer at Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light.

Opponents of the facility point to the air pollution generated by the HERC and its proximity to densely populated, diverse neighborhoods downtown and on the North Side. The HERC is the third-most polluting facility in the county and is a source of nitrogen oxide, mercury and smog known as particulate matter. The city’s resolution notes Minneapolis’ declaration of racism as a public health emergency and city climate goals.

But momentum at the county level has stalled this year, and leaders are fearful of shutting the HERC if it will divert more waste to landfills. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s waste hierarchy favors incinerators over landfills, which are known sources of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

County leaders say significant progress needs to be reached on trash diversion goals before they can set a date to close the HERC. Those pushing to close the HERC say a deadline will force urgency.

“We need to have a closure date in order to put pressure on the institution to close,” Cashman said.

Hennepin County diverts about 43% of its waste from landfills and incinerators through composting and recycling, which falls well short of current goals. The county has a goal to divert 90% of its waste and is bound by a state law to recycle or compost 75% of its waste by 2030.

The city resolution is just the start, Cashman said, and lays out commitments to important steps such as increasing recycling and composting rates across the city. That is particularly important for businesses and multifamily residential buildings; increasing trash diversion efforts from those sources is specified in the resolution.

Pollution risks of HERC

City Senior Environmental Project Manager Jenni Lansing said Thursday that pollution from the HERC is not considered a major contributor to negative health outcomes for residents. The largest source of cancer risk comes from vehicles and major roadways, Lansing said.

“The closure of the HERC will not impact overall cancer and non-cancer risks,” Lansing said.

The HERC is a large source of emissions, Lansing said, but is significantly below levels allowed by its state permit. The facility does produce metal pollution, and accounts for a notable amount of all chromium and mercury emissions in Hennepin County.

The incinerator is a major producer of hydrochloric acid, a corrosive chemical considered a hazardous air pollutant, accounting for 68% of all such emissions in Hennepin County. The HERC also accounts for 18% of dioxin furans, which are linked to cancer risk, Lansing said.

Several testifiers said that presentation was flawed, including Doug Gurian-Sherman, a scientist who worked as a risk assessor for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His own assessment shows the HERC negatively impacts the health of nearby residents.

“The solution to lowering these risks is to shut the HERC as soon as possible,” he said.

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