Minneapolis, MN – Residents of the East Phillips neighborhood and organizers with the Climate Justice Committee rallied outside of Smith Foundry on Tuesday, June 4, after an announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it had reached a settlement with Smith, with the most significant provision requiring that the heavy-polluting foundry shut down its furnace within 12 months.

The rally showcased the results of a steadfast commitment to environmental justice. At the rally, every speaker emphasized that, while the ruling from the EPA is a huge step in the right direction, the Shut Down Smith Coalition, East Phillips residents and their allies are not finished.

Residents who spoke drove home the point that their collective effort is leading to results – that they are building an environmental justice fighting-machine that takes on the system in the streets, in the courts and in political offices. The Smith rally was a time to celebrate a major success, and to motivate organizers and neighbors for the next phase of the fight: demanding a total closure.

After the rally, the Climate Justice Committee circulated the following statement, summarizing these developments, the present state of the struggle, and where it goes from here:

“After a long campaign by community organizers in the East Phillips neighborhood, the EPA finally announced on Tuesday, June 4th, that they had reached a partial settlement with Smith Foundry, requiring that the facility permanently shut down its furnace within 12 months, immediately shut down two of their pouring lines, and pay an $80,000 penalty. Still, the settlement allows Smith to continue to operate as a metal finishing shop.

“This represents a major advancement in the East Phillips and Little Earth communities’ struggle for environmental justice, which is in direct continuity with the significant and hard-won victories at the Roof Depot and Bituminous Roadways. Every inch of ground gained thus far is the result of a tireless, multi-pronged struggle by a broad coalition of activists and community members who were willing to fight for the air we breathe by any means necessary.

“However, this fight is NOT over. Twelve more months is far too long for the neighborhood to continue to endure Smith Foundry’s reckless pollution. And, there are unknown ramifications of operations as a metal finishing plant.

“If Zynik Capital, the EPA, or the MPCA—whose commissioner, Katrina Kessler, was recently granted new powers by the MN State Legislature to shut down polluters like Smith—really treated public health as their top priority, Smith could be shut down today.

“Furthermore, we will continue to loudly demand that all Smith Foundry workers affected by the shutdown be afforded everything they rightly deserve, including generous severance packages, compensation for negative health impacts caused by working at Smith, and a just transition to new employment in a healthy and safe workplace.

“Finally, we demand that the MPCA—and Zynik Capital—issue apologies to the residents of East Phillips and Little Earth. This agency has steadfastly refused to use its enforcement powers, and instead has delivered decades of negligence, lies, and utter disregard for neighbors’ complaints about the epidemic of industrial pollution in their community. MPCA and Zynik must also provide reparations to the neighborhood in whatever form the residents see fit.

“As we enter a new phase in our efforts for environmental justice, we are determined to continue heightening the level of struggle and raising the bar for what communities can achieve when they are prepared to fight. Until East Phillips, Little Earth, and all communities across Minnesota have the power in their hands to build a future free from environmental injustice, the Climate Justice Committee will stay in the streets.

“When we fight, we win!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalRacism #SmithFoundry #CJC #EPNI #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples

The foundry is a major source of pollution in the neighborhood and is operating under long expired permits. Smith Foundry is a major source of lead pollution in Hennepin County, accounting for 70% of all lead pollution. Toya Lopez, from Health Care Professionals for a Healthy Climate pointed out, “There is no safe level of lead pollution.”

Rally organizers called on the governor and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to fulfill their duty to protect the people of Minnesota and shut down Smith Foundry.

“A foundry would never be allowed in an affluent white neighborhood,” said Climate Justice Committee (CJC) member CJ McCormick. “It’s blatant environmental racism that it’s been allowed to stay around this long.”

East Phillips is home to the Little Earth Native community, along with many other oppressed nationality and low-income families. The neighborhood also has some of the highest rates of asthma in the entire state.

Indigenous Protectors Movement founder Rachel Dionne-Thunder said “We are fighting for the next generation. We are fighting for our children. We all need clean water, clean air and a clean way of living. We call on Governor Walz to shut down Smith now.”E

A coalition of organizers, including CJC, has amplified the call since last year to shut the foundry down after public revelations about its harmful emissions. Some state representatives are currently working toward legislation that would pave the way for a buyout of the foundry, effectively forcing a shut down.

“The governor has the power to make that happen. He’s just avoiding stirring what he sees as controversy during an election year,” McCormick said.

#StPaulMN #TwinCitiesMN #MN #Environment #SmithFoundry #CJC #EnvironmentalJustice

Minneapolis, MN – On March 20, over 30 people rallied across the street from Smith Foundry in East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis. A miniature factory replica named Little Smith Foundry stood in front of the “Shutdown Smith Foundry” banner. Community members expressed anger at impact of the foundry’s pollution on the community of East Phillips and Little Earth which is allowed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) organizers Tracy Molm and Michael Wood gathered the crowd. Little Crow Bellecourt of the Crane Clan and director of Indigenous Protectors Movement, stated, “We’re all about our community, and our native people, and also our neighbors and our allies which is up here.” Then directed his disgust across the street, “Can you hear us out here, Smith Foundry? Goddammit! We’re sick and tired of you over here!”

Adjacent to the foundry is a neighborhood Day Care Center where Allison Lind sends her two-year-old son. Lind stated that her son “has significant respiratory issues.” Lind continued, “Like many of you I’ve frequently called the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and 311 and their response has been frustratingly inadequate.”

Speakers from the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute and other groups talked about the lead emissions from the foundry, and that no lead emissions are safe for humans.

Then Little Earth Protector Director Jolene Jones stated, “We have kids with asthma. We have kids missing school. All of that is going on because of this foundry. The governor can shut this place down with a signature. We need to make sure this happens. 'Cause this about our future! Our children! They’re sick all the time.”

The Climate Justice Committee is committed to continuing this fight and is going to put pressure on the Minnesota governor, who has the power to oversee the MPCA and also support legislation that would end permits that limit oversight on polluters like Smith Foundry.

The CJC will also continue to pressure the MPCA directly and Smith Foundry. Several days before the rally the asphalt manufacturer that is next door to Smith Foundry confirmed that they were shutting down permanently because of increased MPCA regulations. Organizers pointed out that closure of Bituminous Roadways, the asphalt manufacturer, was a direct result of pressure from the community.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCitiesMN #MN #Environment #MNCJC #SmithFoundry #LittleEarth #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples #EPNI #MPCA

Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) recently brought a taste of guerrilla theater to a local bureaucrat’s front lawn, March 3, to drive home a simple point: her wealthy, white neighborhood would never allow a major polluter like Smith Foundry to move in and disrupt their way of life.

And, as shown by the neighbors’ peeved reactions to our noisy presence and miniature factory replica on a quiet Sunday morning in pseudo-suburbia, their obsession with maintaining the status quo single-handedly proved the point.

As commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Katrina Kessler has gone out of her way to dodge accountability for her agency’s failure to do its job protecting the residents who live just ten minutes across town from her. Unlike in her idyllic corner of Southwest Minneapolis, residents of the East Phillips neighborhood have been forced to breathe air polluted by Smith Foundry and other nearby industrial operations for decades.

The century-old foundry has a track record of being an especially terrible neighbor, in particular as the leading source of lead pollution in Hennepin County. It’s a textbook case of environmental racism, as Smith Foundry sits in the center of a neighborhood with many low-income families and people of oppressed nationalities struggling against abnormally high rates of asthma and heart issues.

So, the CJC decided it was time to bring a homemade replica of the foundry sidewalk – complete with a working smokestack – to Kessler’s front to demonstrate exactly how the commissioner, her family and their white, wealthy neighbors would react to a factory popping up in their neighborhood fortress.

A pre-built model was quickly assembled on the sidewalk, dry ice and hot water were poured into the stack, and chants of “Kessler, Kessler, shame on you, East Phillips has rights too!” began surging through the megaphone. As the loud chants carried through the air and pretend “emissions” billowed from the factory, people began emerging from their homes.

What first seemed like curiosity quickly turned to mild confrontation. “We live here,” one man seethed. Another person was upset about the “contaminants” being put into the air via the smokestack (for the record, dry ice is 100% safer than what comes out of a real foundry smokestack). All in all, folks seemed most upset about the “noise pollution” from the chants disrupting their morning.

The irony of this reaction is almost poetic, as residents of East Phillips are forced to breathe air polluted by fine particulates and other toxins all day, every day.

For the past few months, residents and allied organizers in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis have ramped up demands to shut down Smith Foundry, which simply doesn’t belong in a residential neighborhood. Last year, the factory was found by a surprise EPA inspection to be in violation of multiple pollution regulations, including the Clean Air Act. It is also a major source of lead pollution, a fact that Commissioner Kessler has outrageously denied in the media.

East Phillips is home to the Little Earth native community, along with many neighbors from oppressed nationalities and low-income families. With elders and young children alike breathing the polluted air around the clock, the neighborhood also has the highest rates of asthma in the entire state.

In a city with a sordid history of redlining, the struggle for justice against environmental racism is very much alive and continues today as an extension of the fallout from redlining. Until there is justice for East Phillips, and Smith Foundry leaves the neighborhood for good, the miniature foundry and its megaphone counterpart will keep making appearances at the homes of the upper-class bureaucrats who are standing in the way.

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #CJC #SmithFoundry #EnvironmentalJustice

The petition challenges the MPCA's recent assertion that Smith Foundry's emissions fall within permissible limits. Evan Mulholland, from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy said, “Not only is this permit wildly out of date, but the bounds of the permit are inadequate if it sets no maximum for lead emissions.”

Mulholland continued, “The MPCA only tested the baghouses, which is only one avenue for pollution to leave the foundry, and what we learned is that it is emitting lead; that’s after it’s all filtered, it’s still emitting lead. On top of the lead, there may be lots of other toxic substances in the fine particulate matter, which haven’t been tested for.”

The community's distrust in the MPCA runs deep. Jolene Jones, a resident of the nearby Little Earth native-preference housing complex, said, “They don't listen to this community. When we said last summer we couldn't breathe, that there were black clouds over Little Earth – nobody listened to us. No one has listened to us for the last 20 years.”

Tania Rivera said, “The Pollution Control Agency has clearly not been holding our best interests at heart – it’s not just me, it’s 80 kids that I take care of, it’s 160 families.” She asked rhetorically, “Why is it always East Phillips?” These stories reveal a broader narrative of systemic disregard for oppressed communities, where industrial operations leave a toxic legacy unchecked by regulatory bodies.

Tracy Molm of the Climate Justice Committee added, “This action transcends the call for the shutdown of a single foundry. It embodies a fight for environmental justice, challenging the systemic inequities that allow such conditions to persist. This press conference is not just a procedural step. It's a rallying cry for change, a demand for accountability, and a testament to the power of community advocacy in the face of environmental neglect.”

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #SmithFoundry #MNCJC

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.

East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from COPD among other respiratory health issues.

The double-dealing of the MPCA was on clear display by trying to break the community meeting up into smaller, fragmented groups at “answer” tables. The East Phillips community and their supporters refused to cooperate, ignoring the “answer” tables and demanding that the MPCA address the community as a whole.

This was a follow-up meeting after the federal Environmental Protection Agency found, in a surprise inspection, that Smith Foundry was polluting the neighborhood and it required an outside agency to come to test the facility again.

The Smith Foundry has been releasing lead and other pollutants into the air on a permit they received in 1992. This permit does not monitor for lead. On Tuesday this week, the MPCA went out of their way to announce via Twitter that they found “The Smith Foundry is meeting their permit requirements. The facility emits low levels of lead.” The MPCA proudly shared this information, despite the fact there is no safe level of lead.

At the meeting on Wednesday night, residents pointed out that Smith has been poisoning the neighborhood for 120 years, while MPCA denies this and claims the foundry is in compliance with its permits. Brian Dickens, an Environmental Protection Agency employee named on Wednesday night, said that last year the Smith Foundry was in complete violation of their permits, but he states that “things have improved a lot.” 20-year Phillips resident Steff Yorek responded, “How can we trust you to maintain that they’re in compliance with the permit after you’ve allowed them to poison our air for decades?”

The MPCA is aware that this residential neighborhood is flooded with polluters and did not express any interest in changing that. As stated by MPCA representative Frank Kohlasch, “Bituminous Roadways is next door to Smith Foundry. Considering all sources of pollution around Smith Foundry is critical to the process for meeting permit requirements, we have to consider all the polluters. What are all of the other sources of air pollution that can be quantified?” Kohlasch did not respond when a neighbor pointed out that this is a residential neighborhood, not an industrial wasteland. The attendees of the neighborhood made their point clear: Smith Foundry does not belong in a residential neighborhood.

At the press conference called by the Climate Justice Committee, the MPCA was exposed for protecting the polluters like Smith Foundry, and not the community of East Phillips. A question-and-answer chant showed the community’s understanding of the role of the MPCA. The question to the community was, “Who keeps us safe?” The answer by the community was, “We keep us safe!” and “What do we want? Shut it down!”

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples #EPA #SmithFoundry #CJC #EastPhillips #EnvironmentalRacism