Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Stephen Mikkelson, 218-316-3887 Brainerd, Minn. -- Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have reached an agreement that requires MnSCU to pay the MPCA $18,000 for alleged hazardous waste violations. The violations occurred at Hibbing Community College in St. Louis County. An MPCA staff inspection in 2007 confirmed several hazardous waste violations at Hibbing Community College. The violations included failing to properly train employees who have hazardous-waste-related duties, and failing to evaluate, properly store, label and conduct required inspections of hazardous waste. The failure to train staff is a repeat violation from previous inspections at Hibbing Community College and other MnSCU locations throughout the state. In addition to paying the $18,000 civil penalty, MnSCU was required to correct all the violations. The penalty has been paid and all corrective actions have been completed. 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/newscenter/enforcement.html.