ALJ Approves MPCA's Proposed Cumulative Impacts Rule and Recommends Modifications

On November 6, 2026, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Kimberly Middendorf issued a report recommending that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) proposed Cumulative Impact Rule be adopted. This is the next major step in Minnesota’s efforts to incorporate cumulative impacts analysis into air permitting decisions for certain facilities located in or near designated environmental justice (EJ) areas in the Twin Cities metro area, Duluth and Rochester. The MPCA proposed amendments to Minn. R. ch. 7007 and new rules at Minn. R. 7007.6000–.6120 to implement the proposed Cumulative Impacts Rule (the Rule).

About the Rule

If adopted, the proposed Rule will add substantial new procedural, technical, and public-engagement requirements for certain new, modified, and renewed state and major air permits governing facilities in the state’s most populous areas. The proposed Rule generally includes five steps:

Step 1: An initial assessment to evaluate benchmarks and impacts to the environment and public health in the EJ area to determine whether a Cumulative Impacts Analysis (CIA) is required. Community members may also petition the MPCA to require a CIA for a permit action affecting an EJ area. The MPCA will then review the petition for completeness, allow a period to correct deficiencies, and grant or deny the petition based on whether the permit action may substantially affect the environment or  residents’ health.

Step 2: A CIA with primary facility information will be required when certain benchmarks are met, when the action may substantially affect the environment or health in an EJ area, or in certain discretionary circumstances.

Step 3: A CIA with additional information may be required based on the results of the primary facility information CIA.

Step 4: If the CIA identifies potential substantial adverse impacts, additional mitigation and pollution control measures.

Step 5: A Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) if the CIA identifies substantial adverse impacts.

Administrative Law Judge’s Recommendation

The ALJ concluded that the MPCA demonstrated it has statutory authority to adopt the proposed Rule, that there is a substantial need for rules to implement Minn. Stat. §116.065, and that the overall structure of the proposed Rule is reasonable and appropriately directed toward the statutory purpose. However, the ALJ also recommended that the MPCA reconsider its decision not to include non-exhaustive factors to guide the agency’s exercise of discretion, as suggested both by commenters supporting and opposing the Rule. The ALJ acknowledged that the record established the need to consider the unique circumstances of each implicated permit and community, but added that, “it is likely possible to provide greater clarity and guidance to stakeholders and preserve the MPCA’s ability to respond to community and industry initiatives and concerns with flexibility.” To that end, the ALJ made five specific recommendations to:

1. Revise Minn. R. 7007.6100 to clarify that the commissioner must consider existing environmental and health burdens, as well as the additional impacts of the proposed permit action, when determining whether a substantial adverse impact exists. The Rule should clarify that quantitative thresholds are not the only basis for determining that a substantial adverse impact may occur.
2. Clarify the standards guiding the commissioner’s discretion and strengthen consideration of disproportionate environmental and health burdens in affected communities.
3. Clarify how the Rule applies to existing facilities and permit reissuances.
4. Clarify that community benefits are not intended to serve as an automatic offset for adverse environmental or health impacts.
5. Ensure that the final Rule establishes sufficiently clear and objective standards to promote consistent and predictable decisions while allowing for the case-specific consideration required by Minn. Stat. §116.065.

Next Steps

The report must be available for five working days before the MPCA takes any action. After that period, the MPCA can act, including by adopting or modifying the Rule. If the MPCA modifies the Rule, it must submit the modified Rule to the chief ALJ before final adoption. If the MPCA chooses to adopt the Rule, several additional steps remain in the process. Regardless of whether the MPCA adopts the Rule as is or modifies the Rule as the ALJ recommended, the Rule will likely be finalized in 2027.

Facilities with state or federal air permits in the Twin Cities metro area, Duluth and Rochester should continue to watch how the MPCA responds to the ALJ’s order, including developments concerning the Cumulative Impact Rule’s effective date.

For more information or with questions about the proposed Rule or how it may affect your facility, contact Jeremy Greenhouse or Shantal Pai.