Microbrewery Program

Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) owns and operates nine wastewater treatment plants and over 600 miles of sewer pipe that convey wastewater from communities in the Twin Cities metro area to our treatment plants. The wastewater treated at these plants must meet strict environmental standards to ensure receiving waters are kept clean.

The Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention (IWPP) section of MCES 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 industries that are regulated.

Rates and fees associated with the program

• MCES current rates and fees
• MCES rates and fees fact sheet (PDF)
• Microbrewery production-based strength charge development (PDF)

More resources

• Industrial Waste & Pollution Prevention regional pretreatment program (PDF)
• MCES microbrewery general permit comparison to standard permit (PDF)
• MCES microbrewery program flyer (PDF)
• Microbrewery wastewater characteristics (PDF)
• MnTAP's environmentally sustainable practices for brewing and distillery industries

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