Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Stephen Mikkelson, (218) 855-5001 Toll free: (800) 657-3864 EDITOR'S NOTE: Cases listed below are from the following counties: Anoka, Beltrami, Carver, Chisago, Clay, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Hennepin, Houston, Nobles, Otter Tail, Polk, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Steele, Todd, Washington and Winona. St. Paul, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) concluded 28 enforcement cases totaling nearly $900,000 in penalties during the second quarter of 2005. The cases occurred at facilities in 20 counties throughout Minnesota. For the second quarter, 25 percent of the cases involved stormwater violations from the 2004 construction season. The MPCA requires construction stormwater permits for projects that disturb one or more acre of land. Companies applying for these permits must also submit a pollution prevention plan and take measures to prevent erosion that can potentially pollute surface waters with sediment. More information on the MPCA's construction stormwater program can be found at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/stormwater. The largest penalty was to Potlatch Corporation for air quality violations at its manufacturing plant near Bemidji. The $725,000 penalty stemmed from alleged equipment malfunctions and use of an inconsistent data collection system between 1999 and 2003. Details on the case can be found at:
www.pca.state.mn.us/news/data/newsRelease.cfm?NR=267065&type=2. The following is a brief summary of the remaining 27 cases completed during the second quarter of 2005:

• $21,000 -- Energy Economics Inc., and Mark Donaldson, Dodge Center, for hazardous waste violations.
• $18,000 -- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, for solid waste violations.
• $16,278 -- Film Tec Corp., Edina, for air quality violations.
• $9,010 -- City of Farmington, for water quality violations.
• $8,070 -- Dennis Environmental Operations, Minneapolis and Eagan, for asbestos violations.
• $7,710 -- Anderson Automatics, Inc., Brooklyn Park, for hazardous waste violations.
• $7,500 -- Shade Tree Commons, East Bethel, for asbestos violations.
• $6,200 -- Minnesota Soybean Processors, Brewster, for air quality violations.
• $6,000 -- Roverud Construction-Gengler Quarry, Caledonia, for water quality violations.
• $6,000 -- Superior Minerals Company, Savage, for air quality violations.
• $5,885 -- Steele County Sanitary Landfill, Owatonna, for solid waste violations.
• $5,450 -- Terrace Hills Development, LLC, St. Augusta, for stormwater violations.
• $5,290 -- Multek Flexible Circuits, Inc., Northfield, for hazardous waste violations.
• $5,000 -- Diamond K. Dairy, Altura, for feedlot violations.
• $5,000 -- Morgan Run, LLC/Scott Breuer Homes, Big Lake, for stormwater violations.
• $4,725 -- Quality Circuits, Fergus Falls, for hazardous waste violations.
• $4,625 -- SRC Inc., Wyoming, for solid waste violations.
• $4,550 -- Burski Construction (Luxemberg Development), St. Augusta, for stormwater violations.
• $4,500 -- Irondale Township, Ironton, for stormwater violations.
• $4,350 -- McLaughlin Gormley King Company, Chaska, for air quality violations.
• $4,162 -- 3M Building 500 Food Service Trades, Woodbury, for hazardous waste violations.
• $3,500 -- Mlaskoch Excavating & Utility, Inc., Banning Junction, for stormwater violations.
• $3,250 -- Poly Foam Inc., Long Prairie, for air quality violations.
• $2,250 -- Heartland Appraisal, Inc., Big Lake, for stormwater violations.
• $2,250 -- Randy Kramer Excavating, Big Lake, for stormwater violations.
• $2,000 -- Helena Township, for water quality violations.
• $750 -- American Crystal Sugar Co., Moorhead and Crookston, for air quality violations.

A complete summary of environmental enforcement actions and news releases can be found on the MPCA's News Media Center Web page at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/index.html. For questions on specific enforcement cases, please contact Stephen Mikkelson, Information Officer at (218) 855-5001, or toll free at (800) 657-3864.