Busch Agricultural Resources violated Minnesota rules and federal standards on several occasions according to a Minnesota Pollution Control (MPCA) investigation. Busch Agricultural Resources operated a barley malting facility located in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The violations discovered during a routine, unannounced inspection of the facility included:
- failure to conduct 22 performance tests, when the tests were completed, they were 833 days late
- failure to calculate particulate matter emissions
- failure to perform tests for particulate matter emissions
- exceeded particulate matter emissions by 437% on one stack and 4% on another stack
- failure to apply for a permit for the installation of new, permanent generator
These violations led to Busch Agricultural Resources paying a fine of $323,850.
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 considers 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.