Mckenzie, ND

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 Mckenzie in North Dakota · Population: 14,280

Mckenzie, ND is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 11 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 5 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 27.1M 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 39 and a peak AQI of 172 in 2024, with 82% 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
14,280
TRI Facilities
11
Water Systems
5
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
27.1M 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 300 (82%) 58 6 172
2023 277 (76%) 72 10 298
2022 294 (89%) 37 0 75
2021 286 (80%) 62 6 183
2020 346 (95%) 17 0 66
2024 Good Air Quality: 82% of days
Unhealthy days: 8
Median AQI: 39

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 North Dakota, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (5)

System Population Violations
WATFORD CITY CITY OF 6,390 0
MCKENZIE COUNTY WRD 3,895 0
ALEXANDER CITY OF 1,335 1
WATFORD RESIDENCE SUITES 32 1
ARNEGARD CITY OF 28 0

TRI Facilities (11)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Oneok Rockies Midstream LLC - Grasslands Gas Plant 26.9M lbs
2 Garden Creek Gas Plant 56.0K lbs
3 Demicks Lake Gas Plant 49.3K lbs
4 Watford City Plant 34.4K lbs
5 Lonesome Creek Gas Plant 28.1K lbs
6 Little Missouri Gas Plant 19.2K lbs
7 Arrow Cdp 18.5K lbs
8 Wild Basin Gas Processing &crude Handling Facility 17.6K lbs
9 Red Wing Creek II Gas Plant 8.6K lbs
10 Roosevelt Gas Plant 5.5K lbs
11 Bear Den Gas Plant 3.6K lbs

Cities in Mckenzie (4)

Keene
Pop: -
1 facilities · 0 water
Alexander
Pop: -
3 facilities · 1 water
Arnegard
Pop: -
1 facilities · 1 water
Watford City
Pop: -
6 facilities · 3 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Mckenzie, North Dakota?
Mckenzie, ND has an environmental risk score of 43/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 11 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 5 water systems on record. 2 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Mckenzie?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Mckenzie, ND in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Mckenzie?
Mckenzie, ND has 11 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 27.1M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Mckenzie?
In 2024, Mckenzie, ND recorded a median AQI of 39 and a peak AQI of 172. 82% 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 Mckenzie?
Mckenzie, ND has 5 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 Mckenzie?
Environmental compliance in Mckenzie, North Dakota is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the North Dakota 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