Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Technical contact: Roberta Getman, (507) 280-2996 Media contact: Nancy Miller, (507) 280-3590 ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Under an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), High Plains Dairy, LLP will pay an $18,000 penalty for alleged feedlot violations at its facility in Alton Township, Waseca County. Alleged violations include failure to notify the State Duty Officer of a pollutant discharged to waters of the state and take measures to avoid water pollution, discharge of untreated sewage to waters of the state, discharge of sewage without an appropriate permit, and discharge of sewage into a collection basin not designed to prevent groundwater contamination. In January 2005, Waseca County staff observed manure from High Plains' Alton facility discharging to a road ditch, where it entered a tile intake. At the tile outlet, county staff found manure in a drainage ditch that empties to Buffalo Lake. The manure was traced back to an overflowing stormwater basin at the facility. Operators there allegedly pumped manure and milk waste from the milking parlor into the stormwater basin instead of an on-site manure storage basin. High Plains was instructed to dike the area around the tile inlet and to report the discharge to the Minnesota Duty Officer. MPCA staff instructed facility staff to pump the stormwater basin down to avoid additional discharge and to clean up all spilled manure, including that in the drainage ditch. The facility immediately ceased adding milking-parlor waste to the stormwater basin. The spilled manure was cleaned up as it thawed over the course of the winter. At the time of the spill, High Plains was in the process of selling the Alton facility and had started to move milking cows to a site in Rice, Minn. In May 2005, High Plains sold the facility to Borneke Construction, and the facility is no longer operating as a dairy. Borneke has assumed responsibility for corrective actions at the site, including removal of remaining manure and closure of manure storage areas as required by MPCA rules. 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's Web site at/newscenter/enforcement.html.