09/08/2026
Join us Tuesday night for a public forum on HERC, hosted by the League of Women Voters!
Unfortunately the county's representative, Dave McNary, will no longer be attending. We'll be there to debunk their misinformation anyway. McNary is a leader with MRRA, the industry group that advocates for incinerators. MRRA recently funded a report on PFAS pollution that a former DuPont scientist called "a poor study." A retired EPA risk scientist found the report's own data shows PFAS emissions from HERC alone likely exceed proposed EPA safety standards.
HERC makes people sick. It's one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxide, lead, dioxins, and particulate matter in the county, next to North Minneapolis neighborhoods with some of the highest asthma rates in the state.
Its permit limits are decades old. "Below permitted levels" is not the same as safe. The EPA is being sued right now because its new incinerator standards are still far weaker than the Clean Air Act requires.
The trash burner is also blocking progress toward Zero Waste. As long as the county needs trash to feed it, there's no reason to reduce, recycle, or compost. Detroit doubled its recycling rate after closing its incinerator in 2019. Closure drives progress.
And HERC is already costing you. It doesn't turn a profit. The county carries more than $37 million in bond debt on it, and that debt gets paid with your property taxes. When someone says closing HERC will raise costs, ask what keeping it open is costing right now.
Delay = harm.
Thanks to LWV for hosting!
See you there:
Tuesday, Sept 8
6:30 PM
Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Room
300 Nicollet Mall
