Resources on the Proposed Public Works Expansion in East Phillips

Our friends at Seward Neighborhood Group put together a list of resources for the proposed public works expansion project in the East Phillips neighborhood.

A little background on the project from SNG:  The City of Minneapolis has a plan – one that has engendered a strong and long standing opposition – to build a new City Water Works facility that will expand the already existing one adjacent to the Roof Depot building in East Phillips, in order to update and consolidate all the several Water Works facilities that currently serve Minneapolis.

The new multi-acre campus would include a significantly expanded facility, parking capacity for 888 staff vehicles (including the vehicle fleet and staff vehicles that are currently based at that site), a mix of diesel and non-diesel fueled vehicles, and a diesel fueling station. (Note: The 888 parking spaces is a cap for the lifetime of the facility; the City documents state that there will be approximately 589 vehicles, staff and fleet vehicles combined, but there is certainly room for expansion built into the project; the estimate of 589 vehicles represents an increase of 265 vehicles over current usage.)

We have made every effort to use only accurate information and data from verifiable and reliable sources. The issues and controversy surrounding the proposal are many layered and complex and have a long history. In this list we have primarily focussed on questions about air pollution and health impacts, especially from the increase in vehicle traffic and the addition of more diesel trucks and a diesel fueling station. But it is important to acknowledge that there are many other issues at the core of the opposition to the project which are rooted in environmental and racial justice and the historic and current harms to Indigenous people that have happened over land loss; East Phillips, home to Little Earth, is at the heart of the Indigenous community of Minneapolis.