ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says it came up with a variety of creative approaches to the state’s environmental challenges in 2015.

The agency’s “Swimmable, Fishable, Fixable?” report in April offered evidence about impaired water quality and its causes. It helped bolster Gov. Mark Dayton’s buffer strip legislation.

The MPCA says it worked with the City of Princeton and the Metropolitan Council to build flexibility into their wastewater permits for phosphorous discharges, helping them control costs while meeting water quality goals.

In a pilot project in Duluth, sediment dredged from the harbor was used to restore aquatic habitat that had been lost for more than a century.

And an MPCA report in July showed how some Twin Cities residents are harmed by even low or moderate levels of air pollution.