Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Technical contact: Chris Bashor, (651) 297-8618 Media contact: Nancy Miller, (507) 280-3590 ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Under an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the owners and operators of Corn Plus have paid a $12,600 penalty and will take several actions to correct alleged environmental violations at their ethanol plant in Winnebago, Faribault County. Several alleged violations have been documented at the Corn Plus site in recent years. In 2001, the owners and operators of the plant (hereafter referred to as the "regulated parties") failed to notify the MPCA and obtain the proper permits to install a new, 521,000-gallon storage tank. The new tank increased the facility storage capacity to over one million gallons, resulting in its reclassification to a Major Above-ground Storage Tank Facility. The MPCA received the regulated parties' Major Facility Permit application in March 2004. Several spills have occurred at the site, including 100 gallons of gasoline in February 2004, 1,080 gallons of 95 percent ethanol in April 2004, 400 gallons of alcohol blend in January 2005, and 5,000 gallons of denatured ethanol in February 2005. The regulated parties failed to notify the Minnesota Duty Officer of the February 2005 spill for three days. The spills resulted from improper storage tank- and railcar-filling techniques and inadequate spill-containment safeguards. The MPCA approved an investigation plan for the above-mentioned spills. The regulated parties completed the investigation plan and submitted a final report to the MPCA. After reviewing the report, the MPCA determined that the site requires additional remedial investigation and cleanup. The regulated parties have completed several of the required actions, including obtaining an Above-ground Storage Tank Major Facility Permit from the MPCA and removing all spilled material from the spill-containment area. In addition, the regulated parties have agreed to submit a Modified Spill Prevention Plan to the MPCA, submit a certified statement ensuring that no additional above-ground storage tanks will be put into service without a permit from the MPCA, and conduct additional ground water monitoring in the spill areas. The MPCA will receive comprehensive reports of the monitoring results as well as all site investigation and cleanup activities. This type of agreement is one of the many tools the MPCA uses to achieve compliance with environmental laws. When calculating penalties and enforcement options, MPCA staff take into account how seriously each violation affected the environment, whether it is a first time or repeat violation, and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate authorities. For a comprehensive list of enforcement actions taken by the MPCA, refer to the agency Web site at/newscenter/enforcement.html.