Enforcement
Environmental rules and regulations are essential tools used to protect Minnesota’s environment. These rules and regulations set standards for environmental quality and limits on pollutants that can be discharged from facilities. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) helps protect our environment by writing and enforcing these rules and regulations.
To help regulated parties stay in compliance with rules and regulations, the MPCA conducts onsite inspections, provides training and distributes fact sheets and other guidance materials.
The MPCA has a variety of enforcement options when violations occur at permitted sites and facilities. These options are available to enforcement staff in most agency programs, including:
- air quality;
- land programs (includes solid waste, hazardous waste, and above and underground storage tanks);
- water quality (includes point source, non-point source, stormwater and feedlots).
Types of Enforcement Actions
Of about 20 types of enforcement options, there are just a handful that can carry monetary penalties, and are commonly used by MPCA staff.
Administrative Penalty Orders (APO)
APOs are issued to resolve compliance problems involving state and/or federal environmental laws. The severity of the enforcement action depends on the environmental impact of the violation, whether it is a repeat offense, and how quickly the problem is corrected, among other factors. An APO contains a monetary penalty and a schedule of actions the violator must follow to return to compliance. The maximum penalty that can be assessed in an APO is $10,000.
There are three types of APOs: forgivable, nonforgivable or a combination of the two. A forgivable APO assesses a penalty, but “forgives” the dollar amount if actions to correct problems are completed on schedule. With a nonforgivable APO, no portion of the monetary penalty is waived.
In a combination APO, a portion of the penalty is forgiven if corrective actions are completed on schedule — usually within 30 days.
More information is available in the following fact sheet:
Administrative Penalty Orders: Compliance is the GoalStipulation Agreements (STIPs)
Stipulation Agreements are negotiated settlements used when violations are serious enough to warrant a civil penalty greater than $10,000. They are also used when the actions needed to correct the problem may take more than 30 days to complete.
STIPs also include a schedule the violator must follow to return to compliance with applicable regulations. Depending on the size of the monetary penalty and the violator’s ability to pay, a payment schedule may also be included in an agreement.
Consent Decrees
One way to resolve a case that has resulted in litigation is to use a Consent Decree, which is a negotiated agreement between the MPCA and a regulated party. These are also signed by a judge who has been asked to take jurisdiction of the case settlement and entered as an order of the court. A Consent Decree states how the dispute between the MPCA and regulated party is to be resolved, ordinarily this will include an obligation to pay penalties and to complete corrective actions within a specified time.
Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)
Supplemental Environmental Projects are intended to provide extra environmental and public health benefits. SEPs are environmentally beneficial projects which a responsible party agrees to undertake in the settlement of an enforcement action, but which the responsible party is not otherwise legally required to perform. SEPs are often used as part of a STIP.
Determining Penalty Amounts
When the MPCA assigns a penalty, the dollar amount is determined using a formula that takes into account the following factors:
- The risks a violation posed to public health or the environment;
- Whether the violation was an isolated incident or part of a pattern of violations;
- The damage the violation caused to natural resources;
- Whether the violation was intentional or accidental;
- How quickly a violation was reported to the appropriate authorities;
- Whether a business gained an economic benefit from the violations; and,
- How prompt and cooperative the party was in correcting the problem.
Enforcement Actions by U.S. EPA
Occasionally an enforcement action will be handled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This generally happens in cases where the violations involve environmental issues over which the MPCA has no regulatory authority, but the EPA does. Examples include violations of regulations concerning chloroflurocarbons. It may also happen in cases where negotiations break down, or in some instances where a case shifts from civil to criminal proceedings.
Quarterly Summary of Enforcement Actions
Since October 2000, the MPCA has posted a quarterly summary of enforcement actions on its Web site. These summaries are posted at:
More Information
For more details on specific cases within the quarterly summaries, or for more about the MPCA’s enforcement activities, contact Stephen Mikkelson, Information Officer at 218-316-3887, or toll free at 1-800-657-3864.
