With Community Demands Escalating to Close HERC, Commissioner Fernando Agrees to Release Action Plan on Dec. 18
Hennepin County Government Center.
Residents Call Out Facility’s Harm to Black, Brown, Immigrant and Working-Class Families. At MLK Day rally, residents look to County Commissioners: “Value Black lives”
For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Media Contact: Erick Boustead, zeroburncoalition@gmail.com; Zoe PiSierra, mnejt@berlinrosen.com
HENNEPIN COUNTY – Following an in-person meeting between Hennepin County residents and County Commissioner and Board Chair Irene Fernando (D-2) on November 12, 2025, Commissioner Fernando agreed to publicly release an updated assessment of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) on December 18, 2025.
Attendees of the November 12 meeting sent a letter to Commissioner Fernando’s office yesterday, thanking her for her time, recapping the topics discussed at the meeting, including the severe health risks stemming from HERC and dangerous conditions for workers at the rundown facility, and confirming the agreed upon December 18 timeline for the new public assessment of HERC. The full letter can be viewed HERE.
Two key points from the letter: “In 1989, community members protested HERC being built. Resistance has continued ever since. Zero Burn Coalition leaders have been in talks with your office and publicly calling for HERC’s closure since 2021 – due to the fact that HERC is the largest polluter in Hennepin County, posing severe risks to your constituents’ health and safety while costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year and disincentivizing substantive advances toward a zero waste future.” … “During our coalition’s meeting with your office on November 12, you committed to addressing the delays in HERC’s closure and meeting with Minneapolis Mayor Frey to streamline communications between the County and City regarding HERC’s closure. You also agreed to share a public assessment of your plans to shutter HERC by December 18.”
Natasha Villanueva, a community member from District 2 said, “In response to increased community pressure in support of HERC’s closure in recent months, our meeting with Commissioner Fernando last week marked a step in the right direction towards closing the facility and ensuring cleaner air and safer conditions for Hennepin County residents.”
Anndrea Young, born and raised in North Minneapolis and Executive Director of the Heritage Park Neighborhood Association shared, “Especially as our federal government rolls back critical regulations and state funding to combat climate change, it’s up to our local elected leaders like Commissioner Fernando to stand up for good climate policy and help protect the lower-income and BIPOC communities most impacted by deteriorating air quality and contaminated drinking water. HERC is the largest polluter in our county, and it’s past time we shut down this facility.”
In addition to sharing a revised assessment of HERC, Commissioner Fernando noted that she will be meeting with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to discuss the facility’s closure in advance of December 18.
“We are tired of these behind closed doors meetings, emerging with vague false promises. We need clear and constant communication between the County, the City and folks like me and my family impacted here in North Minneapolis. We hear that Commissioner Fernando and Mayor Frey plan to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the facility’s closure, and we need them to be transparent, and detailed. We demand a seat at that table. We want an invite for community members to participate in future meetings to ensure those most impacted by HERC have a continued voice in this action plan,” said Northside resident and District 2 constituent D.A. Bullock.
Maria Carino Gutierrez stated, “As a parent in North Minneapolis, I am worried about how HERC’s pollution affects my child’s health. I also know many other parents in my neighborhood who have concerns just like mine. I am hopeful that Commissioner Fernando and Mayor Frey understand the
importance of our voice in this process and welcome our continued participation as we work together to shut down this dangerous facility.”
County residents’ meeting with Commissioner Fernando comes as a growing number of community members sound the alarm on the safety risks of HERC. Last week, students with the University of Minnesota Students for Climate Justice launched a campaign demanding the County, including their District 4 Commissioner Angela Conley, start the closure process by the end of 2025.
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