East Side Jersey Dairy Inc., doing business as Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., had several liquid sugar spills they failed to report to the Minnesota Duty Officer in 2022 and 2023, according to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation. The spills created a potential for harm to the environment and aquatic life had they reached wetlands near the company’s facility in Woodbury, Minnesota.
MPCA staff inspections confirmed other violations of the company’s industrial stormwater permit including:
- Failing to maintain good housekeeping measures for outdoor materials and activities to reduce contamination of stormwater runoff.
- Submitting annual and quarterly monitoring reports late.
- Missing monthly industrial stormwater inspections and annual employee training.
- Submitting stormwater samples for laboratory analysis that do not meet federal temperature requirements.
- Failing to modify its required stormwater pollution prevention plan and install or repair stormwater control measures within 14 days after reporting exceedances of permitted discharge limits.
In addition to paying the $14,025 civil penalty, Prairie Farms Dairy has completed a series of corrective actions including:
- Cleaning outdoor areas of the facility that contribute contaminants to stormwater runoff.
- Creating compliance schedules to ensure all required inspections, trainings and reports are completed on time.
- Providing 2023 employee training rosters and training material for MPCA review and approval.
- Completing stormwater pollution prevention plan modifications and upgrading or repairing existing stormwater control measures.
- Modifying collection protocols to ensure stormwater samples sent for laboratory analysis meet federal holding time and temperature requirements.
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.
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