Sahan Journal: ‘You’re failing at your job’ - residents call on state to shutter Smith Foundry in tense community meeting
South Minneapolis neighbors call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to shut down a foundry because of its pollution, and say the MPCA commissioner should resign.
Nicole Mason (right), an activist and resident of the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, describes the respiratory illnesses her family has faced after living in close proximity to Smith Foundry for years. Mason spoke at a November 27, 2023, public meeting about the foundry. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
By Andrew Huzzard via Sahan Journal
Jolene Jones noticed the pollution spewing out of Smith Foundry 50 years ago when she moved to Little Earth of United Tribes, a designated urban Native American housing area in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood.
Her family and neighbors started complaining about Smith Foundry, a metal processing plant on E. 28th Street, almost immediately, she told a panel of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) leaders Monday night. She’s watched generations of kids grow up with asthma, and said the facility played a big role in those health issues.
“This is environmental racism at its finest guys,” Jones said. “We’ve got the most diverse community in the state of Minnesota, and we can’t breathe.”
She joined more than 100 East Phillips residents and environmental advocates who packed into a local recreation center for a public meeting about Smith Foundry. The Environmental Protection Agency found that the foundry violated the federal Clean Air Act during a surprise inspection in May.