Duluth, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Virginia Public Utilities Commission recently reached an agreement resolving the utility's alleged failure to follow state air and water quality permits' requirements at its Virginia, Minn., facility. As a result, the VPUC will pay a $60,000 penalty, fulfill all stipulated compliance requirements and apply for new permits by the required deadlines.
The VPUC received a required state air quality permit in 2005 which allowed for the installation of a wood-fired boiler and related emission control equipment. Continuous emission monitoring system quarterly reports submitted from the second quarter of 2008 through the second quarter of 2009 documented emissions exceeding permit limits for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and opacity, a measure of air clarity affected by the particulate emissions. The VPUC also failed to perform a required emission test, conduct an audit and submit reports on time. The VPUC has made corrective actions including minimizing wood boiler and airborne dust emissions and conducted a noise survey.
Facility staff applied for an air quality permit modification which will allow an increase in carbon monoxide and opacity limits. They also submitted a report listing all permit deviations for the first half of 2009. The VPUC received a water quality permit in 2007 that allows the facility to obtain water from, and discharge to, Silver Lake. It also pumps water from the Missabe Mountain mine pit into the facility. This combination of "non-contact cooling water" is used for cooling steam in the facility's two steam condensers. Since June 2007, the facility's monitoring reports indicated 25 violations of the permit's cooling water discharge temperature limits, and additional failures to report required volume and temperature data or notify the MPCA of significant operational changes to permit requirements.
The VPUC is required to comply with permitted discharge temperature and volume limits or must apply for a permit modification by Feb. 12, 2010 to increase those limits. The latter would also have to include an analysis describing potential impacts to Silver Lake water quality based on an assessment of how increased discharge water temperatures and/or volumes might affect aquatic life and habitats. A stipulation agreement such as this is one of the tools used to achieve compliance with environmental laws. 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, go to the agency Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/enforcement.html.
