Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Technical contact: Scot Sokola, 651-297-8479 Media contact: Nancy Miller, 507-280-3590 Toll-free: 1-800-657-3864 Rochester, Minn. - Lakeside Foods, an Owatonna food-processing company, has paid $25,000 for alleged water-quality violations. In addition, the company will upgrade parts of its wastewater treatment system so that similar problems do not occur in the future, and contribute $10,000 to the Cannon River Watershed Partnership for use on local environmental projects. Several illegal wastewater and stormwater discharges occurred during a 15-month period from June 2005 to September 2006 at Lakeside Foods and one of its industrial by-products sites. Due to possible structural and operational inefficiencies at the facility, several wastewater discharges flowed directly to the Straight River. Other discharges flowed to a nearby drainage ditch, eventually emptying to the Straight River. These discharges are not allowed under the conditions of Lakeside's water-quality permit. To prevent future unauthorized wastewater discharges, Lakeside hired a consultant to evaluate the plant's wastewater system. Based on the evaluation, facility operators plan to complete or have completed a number of upgrades. For example, Lakeside will install an automated leak detection system to provide early notification of system leaks, and has changed the way it operates its spray irrigation system. The company removed septic systems that were connected to its tile line system and repaired several damaged sections of the tile lines. The company has also provided training to employees regarding the proper operation, maintenance and management of their spray irrigation system. A Stipulation Agreement is one of the tools used to achieve compliance with environmental laws. When calculating penalties, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency takes into account how seriously the violation affected the environment, whether it was a first time or repeat violation and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate authorities. MPCA 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, visit the agency Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/enforcement.html.