Hennepin County Staff Gathered Intelligence on Incinerator Critics, Emails Show

Hennepin County officials used staff members to monitor environmental justice activists who sought to close a local waste incinerator, according to emails released through a Freedom of Information Act request. The records detail a practice in which county employees gathered information on community organizers and shared those findings with the waste management industry. Advocates argue the strategy allowed the county to stay ahead of protests and legislative efforts aimed at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center in north Minneapolis.

The incinerator processes 365,000 tons of trash annually. It operates in a low-income neighborhood and faces criticism for emitting pollution, including high levels of Pfas, which are known as forever chemicals. Nationally, nearly 100 municipal or hazardous waste incinerators operate, with seven located in Minnesota. Similar disputes over polluting facilities are currently unfolding in cities like Baltimore and Miami.

A central figure in the county’s information gathering was Joe Vital, the county’s environmental engagement coordinator. Hired in 2021, Vital had previously worked with environmental groups and served as chair of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party Native Peoples Caucus. Activists viewed him as an ally. In June 2023, he attended a public Zoom meeting organized by advocates to discuss closing the incinerator. Organizers vet participants to identify industry or political opponents, but Vital was not recognized during that screening process. He subsequently sent a dossier to his superiors detailing the attendees and planned activities of the activist groups.

The dossier reached Rosemary Lavin, the director of the county’s energy and environment department. Lavin and other supervisors planned to discuss the findings with Lisa Cerney, a top county public works official. Cerney has made public statements supporting the incinerator. Nazir Khan, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table, noted that the group screens for county employees to prevent such infiltration. He stated that activists would have noticed Vital’s name if it had been displayed during the meeting.

The emails show that the county shared activist plans with industry leaders to help defeat state legislation. In March 2024, a bill proposed to let cities phase out polluting land uses. David McNary, a county official who also sits on the board of the Minnesota Resource Recovery Association, received emails from activists regarding their organizing efforts. McNary forwarded these emails to Tim Steinbeck, the president of the company that operates the incinerator, and to an attorney for the industry trade group. McNary warned that the bill could impact every production and processing facility in the state. Steinbeck described the bill as detrimental to the industry and urged others to testify against it. Their efforts resulted in the bill’s failure.

Mallory Anderson, a county employee, obtained the original activist emails by joining their mailing list without their knowledge. On March 12, 2024, she sent the emails to McNary. The following day, McNary forwarded them to industry representatives, asking if the attorney had gathered information on who was opposing the bill.

In a recorded conversation with Khan, Vital suggested he was working for the activists rather than the county. Khan said Vital argued he was gathering intelligence on county officials. Vital used the phrase that one must offer a pound of flesh to maintain inside the room. Khan described Vital’s contribution to the advocates as minimal and expressed doubt that Vital was truly on their side. Vital did not respond to a request for comment.

A county spokesperson said the allegations mischaracterize the county’s community engagement work. The spokesperson described the actions as ordinary functions of government, noting that staff routinely attend public meetings and engage with stakeholders to understand different perspectives. The spokesperson added that working together does not mean agreement on every issue.

Audua Pugh, a Minneapolis organizer who was among those surveilled, asked county leadership why public resources were directed toward monitoring community members. Pugh stated that the incinerator should have been closed nearly a decade ago. The county has 9,000 employees, and Khan claimed that dispatching staff to gather information is a common practice. He said advocates lower their defenses because they see these employees as community members, allowing the county to build relationships and share information up the chain.