Contact: Anne Perry Moore, 218-302-6605
Duluth, Minn. — Northshore Mining Co. was recently penalized by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for violating its solid waste permit and state rules regulating hazardous wastes generated at its Lake County, Minn., ash landfill facility. The company will pay a penalty, take corrective actions and perform a supplemental environmental project.
Northshore Mining’s solid waste disposal facility permit, issued by the MPCA in 2010, requires the company to monitor leachate generated at its ash landfill and report any exceedances for pH and other parameters to the MPCA. The company has also been licensed by the MPCA since 1985 as a hazardous waste generator and is required to transport those wastes to an appropriate treatment facility for proper disposal.
On May 9 and July 11, 2011, the company sprayed 39,200 gallons of corrosive hazardous waste leachate to control dust at its landfill. An additional 38,900 gallons of hazardous waste leachate that exceeded allowable disposal levels were delivered to an authorized wastewater treatment plant between July 11 and July 12, 2011.
Northshore Mining did not report these exceedances to the MPCA until Sept. 9, 2011. The company also failed to increase its monitoring frequency after determining pH levels had exceeded their permit requirements.
As a result, Northshore Mining will pay a $242,973 civil penalty and complete seven required corrective actions involving leachate management, reporting and pH-reduction activities.
The company also volunteered to pay an additional $50,000, under terms of a Supplemental Environmental Project agreement, to renovate a household hazardous waste collection building owned and operated by the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District.
Northshore Mining has already completed five requirements and has until December 2012 to complete the remaining two requirements.
When calculating penalties, MPCA staff take 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. Agency staff also attempt 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 MPCA’s Quarterly Summary of Enforcement Actions webpage.
For more information about this enforcement action, call MPCA Solid Waste Supervisor Heidi Kroening at 1-800-657-3864 or 218-302-6620.
