Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Walker Smith, (651) 297-7018 Technical Contact: Brian Gove, (651) 296-7036 St. Paul, Minn. - Centex Homes, a Minnetonka-based residential developer, has agreed to pay a $40,000 penalty to resolve violations of state rules governing treatment of stormwater runoff at a housing development in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. in 2002. The alleged violations took place at the first phase of Lafayette Park Town homes known as the Lafayette Addition, located southwest of Seidl Lake Park in Inver Grove Heights. The company obtained a general permit for management of stormwater runoff at construction projects as required by state law. As part of stormwater management activities, the company built a basin at the site to collect runoff and settle out sediment. During the summer of 2002 the basin filled up with runoff and overflowed, eroding a hillside below the basin site and sending large volumes of sediment onto parts of adjacent Seidl Lake Park and into a nearby wetland and Seidl Lake, which is connected to the wetland. In addition to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's oversight, the environmental impacts at the site were monitored and addressed by the city of Inver Grove Heights and the Department of Natural Resources. The MPCA's enforcement agreement with Centex addresses failure to plan for, manage and mitigate stormwater runoff as required by state law, primarily including failure to construct adequate sedimentation basins, conduct proper maintenance of preventive systems and report and respond to violations in a timely manner. All violations and environmental impacts identified in the agreement have been corrected by the company. Levying penalties and fines is one of the MPCA's many tools used to encourage compliance with environmental laws. 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.