Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contacts: Cathy Rofshus, 507-206-2608, 800-657-3864

Rochester, Minn. -- Wallace Bustad of rural Austin, doing business as Bustad Rolloff and Excavation, has agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for alleged solid waste violations.  He has also taken action to bring the business into compliance with state regulations.

In 2009, Bustad applied to the MPCA for a permit-by-rule to operate a transfer station, a facility that collects waste, temporarily accumulates it at the station, and then transfers the waste to a permitted landfill or other disposal facility.  The MPCA rejected the application because it was missing significant portions of the required information, including signatures.  The agency informed Bustad that he would need to submit a completed application no later than 10 working days before collecting waste.

Early in 2010, the MPCA inspected Bustad’s facility at 24000 U.S. Highway 218 north of Austin and his adjacent property at 24053 534th Ave., and found that Bustad was operating a transfer station without state permits.  The MPCA also found solid waste deposited at the sites, a violation of state permit rules.  The solid waste from both sites totaled more than 200 cubic yards, including 15 cubic yards of household garbage dumped outside with no controls to prevent contamination of the surrounding environment.  (A typical dump truck holds about 10 cubic yards.)  In addition, the MPCA found 1 cubic yard of ash at the facility.

Bustad submitted a complete application to the MPCA for the transfer station after the inspection in February 2010.  As part of the agreement with the MPCA, he has taken action to meet state laws for managing and disposing of solid waste.

The agreement, known as a 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 was a first-time or repeat violation, and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate authorities.  The agency also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit gained by failure to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner.

For more information about managing solid waste, go to the MPCA Web site at http://www.pca.state.mn.us.