American Crystal Sugar fined for water quality violations at Crookston and East Grand Forks facilities

Crookston facility fined $14,150, East Grand Forks facility fined $11,685

According to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation, American Crystal Sugar violated industrial wastewater regulations last year at its Crookston and East Grand Forks facilities that impacted the Red Lake River and Red River of the North.

MPCA staff inspections confirmed the following violations discovered at each facility.

Crookston

• Wastewater discharges to the Red Lake River exceeded permitted effluent limits for fecal coliform, pH and total suspended solids on 12 occasions between April and September 2022.
• The facility released wastewater without permission on four occasions between January 2021 and May 2022. The largest release included 70,000 gallons, which was contained within the facility’s property boundary. Another significant wastewater release discharged to a public ditch adjacent to the facility during a spring rain event. The facility failed to immediately notify the State Duty Officer of one of these releases. Each instance created the potential for harm to the environment.

East Grand Forks

• Between July and December 2022, the facility exceeded permitted effluent limits of carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) at its discharge to the Red River of the North on six occasions. Two incidents included discharges more than twice the permitted limit.
• Other violations included failure to collect and analyze wastewater samples as frequently as required, failure to adequately maintain freeboard levels within wastewater ponds, discharging below minimal river flow levels, and failing to report all wastewater sampling data.

In addition to paying the civil penalties, American Crystal Sugar has completed corrective actions to resolve the violations and maintain compliance with its permits.

MPCA rules and regulations are designed to protect human health and the environment by limiting pollution emissions and discharges from facilities. When companies do not fully comply with regulatory requirements, the resulting pollution can be harmful to people and the environment.

When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how seriously the violations affected or could have affected the environment, and whether they were first-time or repeat violations. The agency also attempts to recover the economic benefit the company gained by failing to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner.