Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Forrest Peterson, 320-441-6972, 800-657-3864

St. Paul, Minn. -- Air quality and storage tank environmental rule violations at the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative processing plant near Renville have resulted in a $50,400 civil penalty from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

From 2007 to 2009, the plant recorded 32 violations of air-quality standards for hydrogen sulfide, and at times exceeded the limit on nitrous oxide emissions.  Inspectors also found violations of storage tank requirements, including late and missing tank inspections, a malfunctioning corrosion-protection system, paint failure and surface corrosion on steel tanks and piping, unreported leaks and spills of beet juice, and degradation of the concrete secondary containment surrounding acid-storage tanks.  In an agreement with the MPCA, the operators have corrected violations and are working on plans and improvements.

The stipulation agreement 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’s website at http://www.pca.state.mn.us, and click on Regulations, then Enforcement.