Microbrewery Permits

The Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention (IWPP) section of Metropolitan Council is the delegated Pretreatment Program authority for the seven-county service area. We regulate industrial wastewater discharges through a permitting system. Microbreweries and brewpubs are included in the nearly 900 regulated industries and are issued a Standard or General Industrial Disharge Permit based on production and discharge volumes.

Breweries impacted	Requirements
All microbreweries and brewpubs that operate within the seven-county service area (PDF)	Must submit a completed Wastewater Discharge Survey for Breweries and Brewpubs to IWPP. Wastewater Discharge Survey for Breweries and Brewpubs (Word)
Any microbrewery or brewpub within the service area that produces 500 barrels of beer or more per year, but discharges less than one million gallons of wastewater annually	Must comply with our Microbrewery Program and submit a completed permit application to us.  Industrial Discharge Permit Application for Microbrewery and Brewpub (Word)
Any brewery that discharges one million gallons or more annually	Must comply with our standard industrial discharge permit program.

Rates and fees associated with the program

• Current industrial user rates and fees
• Rates and fees for industrial users explained (PDF)
• Microbrewery production-based strength charge development (PDF)

Permit information

• Industrial Waste Forms
• Microbrewery standard and general permit comparison (PDF)
• Microbrewery program flyer (PDF)

More resources

• Industrial Waste Pretreatment Program - About IWPP (PDF)
• IWPP – Who we are, right of access for inspection and monitoring (PDF) 
• MnTAP's environmentally sustainable practices for brewing and distillery industries

Connect With Us

Open Channel News  – A biannual news bulletin containing important pretreatment program information and news

Customer Workshops  – Annual workshops for industrial customers to provide input in the rate-setting process and to share ideas and concerns on pretreatment program issues that may affect their businesses.
 

To receive important notifications regarding your Met Council industrial discharge permit, we recommend you add these emails to your address book: [email protected] and [email protected].