Blue Earth, MN

Moderate Risk (43/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.

Environmental data for Blue Earth in Minnesota · Population: 69,386

Blue Earth, MN is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 15 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 18 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 43/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 6.7M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 2 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 45 and a peak AQI of 80 in 2024, with 62% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
69,386
TRI Facilities
15
Water Systems
18
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
6.7M lbs

Air Quality History (2024–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 90 (62%) 56 0 80
2024 Good Air Quality: 62% of days
Median AQI: 45

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Minnesota, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (18)

System Population Violations
Mankato 42,803 0
Eagle Lake 3,268 0
Lake Crystal 2,554 0
Mapleton 1,756 0
Madison Lake 1,017 0
Saint Clair 846 0
Minnesota Lake 683 0
Good Thunder 583 0
Amboy 535 3
South Bend Township 325 0
Vernon Center 323 0
Skyline 289 0
Pemberton 247 0
Rapidan Development Company, Inc. 164 0
School Sisters of Notre Dame 140 0
Hillcrest Health Care Center 94 3
Riverbend Homes and More 60 0
Terrace View East Condominium Assoc. 38 0

TRI Facilities (15)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Chs Mankato 3.2M lbs
2 Adm 2.8M lbs
3 Crown Cork & Seal Co Inc 418.2K lbs
4 Mankato Energy Center 271.0K lbs
5 Poet Biorefining Lake Crystal 25.4K lbs
6 Tbei - Truck Bodies & Equipment International (lake Crystal) 6.0K lbs
7 Mps Mankato LLC 5.8K lbs
8 Industrial Fabrication Services Inc. 4.7K lbs
9 Ccm - Mankato North 384 lbs
10 Nortech Systems-Mankato 2 lbs
11 Rolls-Royce Solutions America Inc. 0 lbs
12 Big Gain Inc 0 lbs
13 Hubbard Feeds Inc 0 lbs
14 Ei Microcircuits 0 lbs
15 Minnesota Elevator Inc 0 lbs

Cities in Blue Earth (3)

Mankato
Pop: -
12 facilities · 8 water
Lake Crystal
Pop: -
3 facilities · 1 water
Lehillier
Pop: -
0 facilities · 0 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Blue Earth, Minnesota?
Blue Earth, MN has an environmental risk score of 43/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 15 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 18 water systems on record. 2 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Blue Earth?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Blue Earth, MN in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Blue Earth?
Blue Earth, MN has 15 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 6.7M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Blue Earth?
In 2024, Blue Earth, MN recorded a median AQI of 45 and a peak AQI of 80. 62% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Blue Earth?
Blue Earth, MN has 18 EPA-regulated water systems. 2 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Blue Earth?
Environmental compliance in Blue Earth, Minnesota is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the Minnesota state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial