MN / county FIPS 27055 / county research

Houston County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Houston County is 155 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 94 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (27), Industrial wastewater discharge (22), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 43.6751, -91.5018.

How this county ranks in Minnesota

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Houston County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.7	23.8	1.21x	19.7 to 40.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	503.9	453.4	1.11xSignificant	465.2 to 545.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.7	14.5	1.08x	9.8 to 24.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	155	143.2	1.08x	134.8 to 177.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.4	30.2	1.04x	22.3 to 43.6	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.1	18.7	1.02x	12.7 to 28.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52.4	51.8	1.01x	40.8 to 66.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.5	17.9	0.98x	10.9 to 27.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.9	18.5	0.97x	11.7 to 26.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.1	13.9	0.87x	6.8 to 20.5	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Houston County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,148	9,842.6	-38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.6	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	78.8	59.8	+32%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	86.7	96.9	-11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde14.91 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.37 per million
Benzene1.08 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

94 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Rail grade crossing27
Industrial wastewater discharge22
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Small hazardous waste generator5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Northern Engraving Corp, Spring Grove
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 55974NRTHR2024T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Caledonia Wwtp, Caledonia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008817281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Spring Grove Wwtp, Spring Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009894114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sleepy Hollow Car Lot, Caledonia
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135995 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Houston Wwtp, Houston
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MN0023736: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Brownsville Wwtp, Brownsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008817389 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Hokah Wwtp, Hokah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008817469 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Houston County, Caledonia
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CHU (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Northern Engraving Corp, Spring Grove
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426557 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oc Ellingson, Caledonia
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003782764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
La Crescent Wwtp, La Crescent
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006739404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lax Fabricating Ltd, Spring Grove
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008701832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bonanza Grain Inc/Kruckow Rock & Redimix, Caledonia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008817227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
La Crescent Rock Products Inc, La Crescent
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008817361 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Scott & Ann Sanness, Spring Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028149475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Houston, Houston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032939293 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Orval Sorum & Sons, Houston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038375736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Eitzen Wwtp, Eitzen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040869272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wiebke Feedlot Llc - Main Feedlot, Spring Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067919934 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Caledonia Wheel Alignment Inc, Caledonia
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068289195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
James Chapel - Sec 27, Houston Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068750248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Michel'S Road & Stone Inc, Brownsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071374551 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Northern Natural Gas - Old La Crescent Tbs, La Crescent
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071493913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Reno Bottoms Floodplain Forest, Caledonia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072201592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
T-18, Eitzen
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 376227H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Houston County

Minnesota state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Houston County, and their findings.
Minnesota vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Minnesota health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Minnesota environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Minnesota drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

Scan an address in Houston County View on the heat map All Minnesota counties