Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Cathy Rofshus, 507-206-2608, 800-657-3864 Rochester, Minn. -- Build to Suit Inc., Turner Excavating Co. and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have reached an agreement that requires the two parties to pay a $20,000 penalty for alleged stormwater violations. The violations occurred at East View Addition, a 22-acre housing development construction site in northeast Faribault, Minn. Rice County staff inspections performed in 2007 confirmed that during construction, the companies failed to maintain appropriate silt fencing, bank stabilization, and sediment- and erosion-control devices throughout the site. These kinds of violations often have significant environmental impacts, mostly due to sediment-laden stormwater running into area surface waters. In this case, significant amounts of sediment had entered nearby ravines that drain to the Cannon River. The Cannon River is currently on the MPCA's impaired waters list for turbidity, which is a measure of water clarity. In addition to paying the $20,000 civil penalty, the companies were required to improve erosion-control practices on the site to meet permit requirements. The penalty is to be paid in full by the end of 2009. Minnesota law requires businesses and contractors to apply for a stormwater permit when construction projects disturb more than one acre of land. The MPCA offers outreach and training to help contractors meet their permit requirements. For more information on stormwater permits, call Lisa Woog, MPCA compliance coordinator, at 218-316-3891 or toll-free at 800-657-3864. 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, visit the agency's Web site at hhref="/newscenter/enforcement.html.