MN / county FIPS 27133 / county research

Rock County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rock County is 144.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 195 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (65), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (48), Industrial wastewater discharge (41). 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: 43.6745, -96.2533.

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 Rock 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	42.4	23.8	1.78xSignificant	26.6 to 64.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.2	17.9	1.58x	16.6 to 45.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.4	18.7	1.3x	14.2 to 40.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.3	30.2	1.27x	25.6 to 56.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	484.6	453.4	1.07x	430.9 to 543.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	144.1	143.2	1.01x	117.5 to 175.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.3	51.8	0.76x	26.4 to 57.4	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 Rock County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,748.1	9,842.6	-31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.1	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	80.4	96.9	-17%	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.

Formaldehyde13.06 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.08 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing65
NPDES wastewater discharge permit48
Industrial wastewater discharge41
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Wind power plant4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Battery storage plant1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Agri-Energy, Luverne
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Cyclohexane. Reports carcinogens. 2,192 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56156GRNRG502SW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Premium Minnesota Pork, Llc, Luverne
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008771695 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Premium Minnesota Pork Llc, Luverne
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5615WGLDNP1174C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Luverne, Luverne
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1990 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Agri-Energy, Llc, Luverne
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Chs, Inc., Luverne
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062630960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Luverne Wwtp, Luverne
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008809708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kapperman Dump, Luverne
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015331559 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Agri-Energy, Llc, Luverne
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hills Wwtp, Hills
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068129509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Chs Nutrition - Luverne, Luverne
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 5615WCHSNC42SUT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Steen, Steen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008809815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Beaver Creek Wwtp, Beaver Creek Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068461060 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Hills Wwtp, Hills
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585196: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Agri-Energy, Llc, Luverne
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Hardwick Wwtp, Hardwick
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585194: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Hardwick Wwtp, Hardwick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070503489 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Quentin Aanenson Fld, Luverne
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID LYV (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1212817101 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Rock County Rural Wtp, Luverne
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG640079: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9
Luverne Wwtp, Luverne
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110008809708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Jasper Wwtp, Jasper
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068304935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Steen Wwtp, Steen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068623467 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hardwick, Hardwick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008809637 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Magnolia, Magnolia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008809664 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Rock 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 Rock 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 Rock County View on the heat map All Minnesota counties