Contact: Pam McCurdy, 651-757-2559
St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Road Master Fleet Services of Brooklyn Park reached an agreement recently resolving a hazardous waste spill and tank violations at the facility.
Road Master Fleet Services operated a truck-maintenance facility at 4025 85th Ave. N. in Brooklyn Park. A 10,000-gallon above-ground tank at the facility was used for fueling trucks. On Aug. 9, 2010, MPCA staff observed evidence that diesel fuel from the tank had been spilled to the ground.
In Minnesota, there is a duty to notify immediately the MPCA via the State Duty Officer of a release and to clean up the spill to avoid pollution of land, waters or air of the state that might threaten the public’s safety or health. Road Master Fleet Services failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the spill, report it, and clean it up. It also failed to evaluate wastes to determine whether they were hazardous to ensure proper management.
The facility has agreed to ensure that all wastes are properly stored. It has also agreed to correct all of its violations and to change practices to prevent further violations. In addition, Road Master Fleet Services will pay a $10,000 civil penalty to the MPCA.
A stipulation agreement such as this one between the MPCA and Road Master Fleet Services is one of the tools the MPCA uses to achieve compliance with environmental laws. When calculating penalties, the agency 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. The MPCA 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 Quarterly summary of enforcement actions webpage.
