Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Mark Sulzbach, 651-757-2770 Saint Paul, Minn. -- The Toro Company has agreed to pay a $30,000 civil penalty for air quality and air permit violations at its Bloomington research and development facility. Toro signed a stipulation agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on Dec. 22, 2008, agreeing to pay the penalty on or before Jan. 21, 2009. In January and February 2008, Toro self-disclosed to the MPCA that its Bloomington facility exceeded its air permit limit of 40,474 gallons of gasoline per year, calculated on a 12-month rolling sum, from March 2007 through December 2007. The MPCA found that Toro continued to exceed its permitted gasoline use and remained out of compliance through October 2008. The facility has exceeded its permitted 12-month rolling sum of gasoline use by more than 4,000 gallons on average from March 2007 through October 2008. The permit is designed to keep carbon monoxide emissions from the combustion of gasoline at the Bloomington facility at or below 165 tons in any 12-month period. Toro agreed to install a catalytic oxidizer system to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and other hazardous air pollutants. Plans for the oxidizer are due to the MPCA by Feb. 5, and complete installation must be completed by Aug. 31, 2009. When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how seriously the violation affected the environment, whether it was 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 company with environmental laws. For a comprehensive list of enforcement actions by the MPCA, visit the agency Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/enforcement.html. The MPCA offers outreach and training to help facilities with the potential to release air pollutants. For more information on air quality permits and emission standards, visit the agency's Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us.