Dakota, MN

High Risk (60/100)

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 Dakota in Minnesota · Population: 442,204

Dakota, MN is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 25 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 21 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 60/100 (High Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 12.2M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 7 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 38 and a peak AQI of 152 in 2024, with 70% 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
442,204
TRI Facilities
25
Water Systems
21
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
12.2M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

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 258 (70%) 107 0 152
2023 184 (50%) 171 7 185
2022 286 (78%) 79 0 82
2021 252 (69%) 110 1 157
2020 260 (71%) 105 1 135
2024 Good Air Quality: 70% of days
Unhealthy days: 1
Median AQI: 38

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 (21)

System Population Violations
Eagan 68,223 0
Lakeville 67,300 0
Burnsville 61,747 0
Apple Valley 50,300 0
Inver Grove Heights 34,189 5
Rosemount 26,500 0
Farmington 23,534 0
Hastings 23,222 2
South Saint Paul 20,664 10
Empire 3,152 0
Skyline Village Mobile Home Park 1,185 4
Hampton 691 1
Vermillion 451 0
Queen Anne Court 400 0
Randolph 355 1
Lexington Riverside Condominium 200 0
Minnesota Veterans Home 180 0
Eagle's Watch Development 140 0
New Trier 120 0
Stonebridge Estates 100 0
Empire Rentals, LLC 53 2

TRI Facilities (25)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Gopher Resource LLC 7.7M lbs
2 Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend LLC 3.3M lbs
3 Ega Spectro Alloys 725.0K lbs
4 Sanimax USA LLC 145.5K lbs
5 Valmont Industries Inc 138.2K lbs
6 Sheldahl Flexible Technologies Inc 96.8K lbs
7 Twin City Tanning Co LLP 92.6K lbs
8 Kemps LLC 10.9K lbs
9 Polytek Development Corp. D.b.a. Endurance Technologies Inc 9.9K lbs
10 Airgas Specialty Products - S St Paul Mn 6.2K lbs
11 Rosemount Aerospace Inc. 3.0K lbs
12 Hawkins Inc. - Rosemount 2.0K lbs
13 Cemstone - Rosemount Umore 1.8K lbs
14 Cemstone - Burnsville 1.7K lbs
15 Chs Inc Lubricants Plant 1.5K lbs
16 Mapei 218 lbs
17 Hawkins Inc. - Pine Bend 201 lbs
18 Safety-Kleen Systems Eagan (eab) 74 lbs
19 Cemstone - Hastings 6 lbs
20 Tcc Materials Rosemount 0 lbs
21 Hobo Inc 0 lbs
22 Automated Assembly Corp 0 lbs
23 Btd Manufacturing Inc. 0 lbs
24 Purina Animal Nutrition LLC - Inver Grove Heights 0 lbs
25 Bo-Decor Metal Finishing Inc 0 lbs

Cities in Dakota (10)

Farmington
Pop: -
2 facilities · 2 water
Hastings
Pop: -
1 facilities · 4 water
Lakeville
Pop: -
3 facilities · 3 water
Rosemount
Pop: -
6 facilities · 1 water
Inver Grove Heights
Pop: -
2 facilities · 2 water
South Saint Paul
Pop: -
4 facilities · 0 water
Eagan
Pop: -
4 facilities · 1 water
Burnsville
Pop: -
2 facilities · 1 water
Dakota County
Pop: -
0 facilities · 0 water
Pine Bend
Pop: -
0 facilities · 0 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Dakota, Minnesota?
Dakota, MN has an environmental risk score of 60/100 (High Risk), based on 25 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 21 water systems on record. 7 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Dakota?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Dakota, MN in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Dakota?
Dakota, MN has 25 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 12.2M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Dakota?
In 2024, Dakota, MN recorded a median AQI of 38 and a peak AQI of 152. 70% 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 Dakota?
Dakota, MN has 21 EPA-regulated water systems. 7 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 Dakota?
Environmental compliance in Dakota, 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