Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Stephen Mikkelson, 218-855-5001 Technical Contact: Christopher Klucas, 651-296-7072 Toll-free: 1-800-657-3864 St. Paul, Minn. -- The city of Rockford, Minn., has agreed to pay an $11,000 penalty for alleged water quality violations. The violations occurred at the city's wastewater treatment facility and were discovered during Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) staff inspections in 2005 and 2006. Rockford's wastewater treatment plant discharges to the Crow River, which is on the MPCA's current impaired waters List for low oxygen levels, mercury and turbidity. The agreement alleges that the city violated permitted wastewater discharge limits of fecal coliform and underestimated wastewater flows from area industries. They also failed to submit a phosphorus reduction plan on time, did not have adequate storage for the biosolids generated as part of the treatment process and failed to adequately disinfect the wastewater. The MPCA provides training on a number of topics for wastewater treatment plant operators. People who operate wastewater treatment facilities must be certified to ensure they have a thorough understanding of a system's basic operation and maintenance. 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. For a comprehensive list of enforcement actions by the MPCA, refer to the agency Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/enforcement.html.