Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Stephen Mikkelson (218) 855-5001 Technical Contact: Hans Neve (651) 296-7715 Toll Free: (800) 657-3864 BRAINERD, Minn. -- Fleet Fueling Services of Minnesota has agreed to pay a $15,000 penalty for alleged emergency response violations. The violations occurred in Eagan, St. Paul, and at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Between 2001 and 2004, the company failed to report six oil spills and failed to immediately clean up oil spills on two occasions. Under state law, spills of environmentally damaging materials must be reported immediately to the State Duty Officer and cleaned up as soon as possible. One spill resulted in oil running down a storm drain and into the Mississippi River. Other violations include failure to adequately equip trucks to effectively respond to spills and not properly training employees on how to report and respond to spills. When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how seriously the violation affected the environment, whether it is a first time or repeat violation, and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate authorities. It also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit gained by failure to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner. For a comprehensive list of enforcement actions by the MPCA, refer to the agency Web site at hhref="/newscenter/enforcement.html.