One of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s goals is to develop and maintain high-quality, accessible data systems. The agency’s What's In My Neighborhood application has been helping deliver this data to people for nearly 15 years. Recent changes to how the MPCA stores and manages its data allow the application to deliver more than ever.

Launched in 2003, the original application only provided users with information about potentially contaminated properties. In 2009, a vastly expanded version was introduced, giving users access to information about air emissions, wastewater discharges, and solid or hazardous waste activities.

The latest iteration gives citizens, businesses, environmental organizations, local governments, and others access to data on more than 150,000 facilities. The update has made new program activities available, including data about emergency management, environmental review, and pollution prevention projects.

You can now search with the aid of a user-friendly map or text-based interface to find information on permits, projects, registrations, inspections, enforcement activities, MPCA contacts, and related information. Users can utilize the radius search feature to learn about environment issues impacting a specific area. Finally, the latest version offers a variety of options to download raw data.

Geospatial data from What's in My Neighborhood is available on the Minnesota Geospatial Commons.

If you have questions or comments about the application, send the agency a note using the WIMN feedback form.