The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) completed 100 enforcement cases for water quality, air quality, waste, stormwater, and wastewater violations in the first half of 2024. Environmental enforcement investigations often take several months, in some cases more than a year, to complete the investigation and issue final enforcement documents to regulated parties. Penalties are calculated using several factors, including harm done or potential for harm to the environment, the economic benefit the company gained by failing to comply with environmental laws, or how responsive and cooperative a regulated party was in correcting problems.
Imposing monetary penalties is only part of the MPCA’s enforcement process. Agency staff continue to provide assistance, support, and information on the steps and tools necessary to bring any company, individual, or local government back into compliance.
Enforcement cases (January–June 2024)
More details on all 100 cases completed during the first half of 2024 can be found on the MPCA’s Compliance and Enforcement web page.
Cases with net penalty amounts of $5,000 or more
| Public date | Company or individual(s) | Violation location | Violation(s) | Net penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/2/2024 | American Crystal Sugar Company (Moorhead, MN) | East Grand Forks | Air quality: The company violated several air quality conditions, including releasing more hydrogen sulfide and particulate matter than its permit allows between 2020 and 2022. | $350,000 |
| 3/11/2024 | Young Life, dba Young Life Castaway Club (Colorado Springs, CO) | Detroit Lakes | Municipal wastewater: The club violated several wastewater regulations, including modifying wastewater treatment systems without approval and improperly discharging hot tub wastewater at its youth and family camp between 2019 and 2022. | $152,815 |
| 4/17/2024 | Elliot Auto Supply Co., Inc. (Eagan, MN) | Saint Paul | Hazardous waste: The company improperly stored hazardous waste, allowed them to accumulate and leak inside its vehicle fluid manufacturing facility in St. Paul, Minnesota. | $75,000 |
| 1/22/2024 | POET Biorefining - Glenville, LLC (Albert Lea, MN) | Albert Lea | Air quality: The facility emitted more particulate matter and volatile organic compounds than allowed by permit over the course of five years. | $52,805 |
| 2/1/2024 | Carver County (Chaska, MN); Valley Paving, Inc. (Shakopee, MN) | Watertown | Construction stormwater: Violations included failing to protect nearby waters and wetlands from erosion and runoff during a highway safety improvement project in the fall 2022 and spring 2023 near Watertown, Minnesota. | $50,000 |
| 1/3/2024 | David Rose dba Tower RV Resort Cooperative and Power Sports of Minnesota, Incorporated (New London, MN) | Tower | Construction stormwater & municipal wastewater: The facility violated several construction stormwater permit requirements during a construction project in 2022, causing adverse impacts to nearby wetlands. | $25,000 |
| 1/24/2024 | Richard Grand (Finlayson, MN) | Finlayson | Construction stormwater: The project owner began construction before obtaining required permits and failed to control erosion and sediment runoff at a pond and wetland improvement site in 2022 near Finlayson, Minnesota. | $19,641 |
| 3/7/2024 | Central Specialties, Inc. (Alexandria, MN) | Alexandria | Air quality: The company violated several air permit conditions between 2021 and 2023 for its portable hot-mix asphalt facility that travels to construction sites around the state. | $19,088 |
| 5/29/2024 | Cleveland-Cliffs Minorca Mine Inc. (Virginia, MN) | Virginia | Industrial wastewater: The facility leaked wastewater, construction runoff and tailings materials into nearly half an acre, including a nearby wetland, in May and June 2023. | $16,750 |
| 1/8/2024 | Alliance Building Corporation (Sauk Rapids, MN) | Sleepy Eye | Construction stormwater: The company failed to properly stabilize soils and control sediment during construction. | $14,475 |
| 4/11/2024 | Stickney Ingredients (Nicollet, MN) | Nicollet | Industrial stormwater: Violations included improperly discharging industrial waste into a city curb-and-gutter stormwater system in Nicollet County in 2023. | $14,292 |
| 6/4/2024 | East Side Jersey Dairy, Inc. dba Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. (Edwardsville, IL) | Woodbury | Industrial stormwater: The company had several liquid sugar spills they failed to report to the Minnesota Duty Officer in 2022 and 2023. | $14,025 |
| 4/30/2024 | Renville County Lake Allie (Olivia, MN) | Buffalo Lake | Municipal wastewater: The company subcontractor failed to haul wastewater to the Hutchinson wastewater treatment facility for completion of treatment; instead applied 183,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater to land as part of an upgrade project in 2023. | $13,005 |
| 2/27/2024 | Alpine Cabinetry, LLC (Saint Cloud, MN) | Saint Cloud | Hazardous waste: The company mislabeled and improperly stored hazardous materials, failed to conduct weekly inspections, and failed to train staff to properly handle and store hazardous waste in 2023. | $12,933 |
| 4/1/2024 | Agropur, Inc. (Roseville, MN), dba Le Sueur Cheese | Le Sueur | Industrial wastewater: The company land applied too much industrial byproduct, resulting in rates of nitrogen and phosphorus that exceeded the allowed limits by more than 10 percent in 2022. | $11,823 |
| 3/19/2024 | Heartland Corn Products (Winthrop, MN) | Winthrop | Air quality: The company failed emission stack tests in November 2021 and February 2022 at its ethanol production facility in Winthrop, Minnesota. | $11,200 |
| 6/5/2024 | Henderson Fire Department (Henderson, MN) | Henderson | Asbestos and solid waste: The department failed to obtain a burning permit and remove prohibited materials prior to conducting a training burn project in 2022. | $10,813 |
| 1/11/2024 | City of Emmons (Emmons, MN) | Emmons | Municipal wastewater: The City of Emmons failed to meet effluent limits 44 times and failed to provide effective treatment between 2021 and 2023. | $10,570 |
| 6/10/2024 | Industrial Finishing Services, Inc. (Perham, MN) | Deer Creek | Industrial wastewater: The company violated several water quality permit conditions relating to required sampling, training, reporting and inspections at its industrial equipment coating and finishing facility in Deer Creek, Minnesota. | $10,440 |
| 4/30/2024 | Packaging Corporation of America (International Falls, MN) | International Falls | Air quality: The company failed to report an October 2023 incident in which a transport truck released lime dust that drifted and deposited on area school playground equipment, vehicles, and vegetation near its paper production facility in International Falls, Minnesota. | $10,230 |
| 5/23/2024 | Forgotten Heroes Ranges & Retreats (McGregor, MN) | McGregor | Construction stormwater: The project owner began construction before obtaining required permits and failed to control erosion and sediment runoff during construction. | $9,510 |
| 3/21/2024 | KGM Contractors, Inc. (Angora, MN) | Angora | Air quality: The company exceeded particulate matter emissions and failed to keep and submit required records in 2023. | $9,285 |
| 1/10/2024 | Disposal Services, Inc., dba Clay Demolition Landfill (Wahpeton, ND) | Glyndon | Solid waste: The company failed to control and address windblown litter across most of the facility grounds and in trees, it had unacceptable materials on the working face, and there was a lack of an effective waste screening area. | $9,000 |
| 1/4/2024 | Eye Kraft Optical, Inc. (Saint Cloud, MN) | Saint Cloud | Hazardous waste: The company failed to properly manage the hazardous waste it generated during a nearly nine-year period. | $7,160 |
| 5/29/2024 | Murphy Granite Carving, Inc. dba Little Falls Granite Works (Little Falls, MN) | Little Falls | Industrial stormwater: The company improperly managed granite dust it generated by disposing of it in a wetland in 2023. | $6,850 |
| 3/14/2024 | City of Lake City (Lake City, MN) | Lake City | Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4): The city failed to develop a regulatory mechanism that includes the following: designated salt storage areas must be covered or indoors and must be located on an impervious surface and implementation of practices to reduce exposure when transferring material in designated salt storage areas. | $6,585 |
| 3/5/2024 | City of Lake Crystal (Lake Crystal, MN) | Lake Crystal | Municipal wastewater: The city failed to sample the influent waste stream for carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD5), total phosphorus (TP), and total suspended solids (TSS) at the required frequency. | $6,249 |
| 2/26/2024 | Palomino Sewer Service (Brainerd, MN) | Brainerd | Subsurface sewage treatment systems: The company failed to maintain required records for land application of septage or records of treating septage with hydrated lime. | $5,950 |
| 5/10/2024 | Midwest Manufacturing and Mechanical, LLC (Nashwauk, MN) | Nashwauk | Hazardous waste: The company improperly disposed of waste paint by allowing evaporation rather than by procedures defined in its permit. | $5,550 |
| 1/4/2024 | VitalDyne Medical, LLC (Cokato, MN) | Cokato | Hazardous waste: The company failed to maintain and operate its facility to minimize the possibility of a release to air, land, or water of hazardous waste which could threaten human health or the environment. | $5,285 |
| 2/23/2024 | Anthony Monack dba Good To Go Pumping & Snowplowing (Virginia, MN) | Virginia | Subsurface sewage treatment systems: The company violated terms in its subsurface sewage treatment systems (SSTS) permit. | $5,020 |
Cases with net penalty amounts of less than $5,000
- Cintas Corporate Services Inc., for air quality violations in Minneapolis, $4,800.
- Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., for industrial wastewater violations in Faribault, $4,335.
- Wakefield Pork Inc., for feedlot violations in Amboy, $4,200.
- 3M Chemical Operations LLC, for hazardous waste violations in Cottage Grove, $4,165.
- Allen Stewart, dba Stu-Mac Properties, for construction stormwater violations in Cottage Grove, $3,848.
- Chandler Greier, for feedlot violations in Lewisville, $3,600.
- Maxwell Fox, for feedlot violations in Janesville, $3,600.
- New Look Contracting Inc., for construction stormwater violations in Plymouth, $3,600.
- USG Interiors Inc., for air quality violations in Cloquet, $3,035.
- Well Groomed Lawns Inc., for hazardous waste violations in Andover, $2,835.
- Johnson Equipment LLC, for construction stormwater violations in Lake Edward Township, $2,812.
- MMPA Shakopee Energy Park, for air quality violations in Shakopee, $2,810.
- Kerry Inc., for air quality violations in Rochester, $2,760.
- Rumpca Excavating Inc., for construction stormwater violations in Cottage Grove, $2,746.
- Ryan Kahler, for solid waste violations in Sherburn, $2,700.
- City of Hendrum, for municipal wastewater violations in Hendrum, $2,653.
- FedEx Corporation, for industrial stormwater violations in St. Paul, $2,640.
- RMS-3 LLC, for construction stormwater violations in Kasson, $2,625.
- Jackson Incorporated, for industrial stormwater violations in Finland, $2,550.
- Raymond Newkirk, for solid waste violations in McGregor, $2,538.
- CW Welding & Fabrication LLC, for industrial stormwater violations in Vesta, $2,350.
- Hwy 27 Auto Salvage LLC, for industrial stormwater violations in Long Prairie, $2,350.
- Linn Star Transfer Inc., for industrial stormwater violations in Eden Prairie, $2,350.
- Mail Handling Group Inc., for industrial stormwater violations in Eden Prairie, $2,350.
- Modern Metal Products, for industrial stormwater violations in Owatonna, $2,350.
- Norm’s Demolicious of Duluth Inc., for industrial stormwater violations in Duluth, $2,350.
- Richard LaVoie, dba LaVoie Backhoe Service Inc., for subsurface sewage treatment system violations in Long Prairie, $2,100.
- Thompson Excavating LLC, for hazardous waste violations in Aitkin, $2,090.
- City of Owatonna, for municipal wastewater violations in Owatonna, $1,980.
- D&A Properties & Self Storage LLC, for construction stormwater violations in Grand Rapids, $1,875.
- Miner’s Incorporated, for construction stormwater violations in International Falls, $1,860.
- Wagner Construction, for construction stormwater violations in International Falls, $1,860.
- Drummer Development Inc., for hazardous waste violations in Mankato, $1,800.
- Hammer Property Holdings LLC, for hazardous waste violations in Mankato, $1,800.
- Doenz Excavating LLC, for industrial stormwater violations in Pine City, $1,785.
- Duane’s Septic Service LLC, for subsurface sewage treatment system violations in St. Michael, $1,725.
- Prom Excavating LLC, for subsurface sewage treatment system violations in St. Cloud, $1,725.
- Mall Drive Auto Center LLC, dba Volkswagen of Duluth, for hazardous waste violations in Hermantown, $1,697.
- Mobile Repair Service, for hazardous waste violations in Laporte, $1,697.
- Maselter Cabinets Inc., for hazardous waste violations in Rockville, $1,696.
- Jon Terp and Dalton Terp, for construction stormwater violations in Delano, $1,665.
- New Look Contracting Inc., for construction stormwater violations in Fridley, $1,650.
- Green Plains Otter Tail LLC, for air quality violations in Fergus Falls, $1,269.
- JC Hallet Construction LLC, for construction stormwater violations in Delano, $1,260.
- Hofschulte Backhoe and Septic LLC, for subsurface sewage treatment system violations in Elgin, $1,210.
- Maxwell Fox, for feedlot violations in Janesville, $1,200.
- Ingleside Engineering & Construction Inc., for subsurface sewage treatment system violations in Loretto, $1,100.
- Michael Miller, for asbestos violations in Minneapolis, $1,100.
- Schwan’s Company, for hazardous waste violations in Marshall, $1,028.
- Valley Truck Parts & Service, for hazardous waste violation in East Grand Forks, $1,028.
- Farmer’s Union Industries LLC, for construction stormwater violations in Redwood Falls, $997.
- Jonny Pops LLC, for industrial stormwater violations in Elk River, $800.
- Sutton Transport Inc., for industrial stormwater violations in Centerville, $800.
- Asset Liquidation Auctions LLC, for hazardous waste violations in Hutchinson, $595.
- Everstrong Construction Inc., for construction stormwater violations in Redwood Falls, $592.
- Barth Construction Inc., for construction stormwater violations in Winona, $550.
- Minnesota Trout Unlimited, for construction stormwater violations in Winona, $550.
- EZ Distributing Inc., dba Ax-Man Surplus Stores, for hazardous waste violations in Crystal, $508.
- Douglas Van Zuilen and Arleen Van Zuilen, for subsurface sewage treatment system violations in Dodge Center, $500.
- City of Hallock, for municipal wastewater violations in Hallock, $310.
- Michael Hopper, dba Surplus Liquidation Auctions LLC, for hazardous waste violations in Savage, $300.
- Kevin Manley, dba Kevin’s Klassic Cars, for hazardous waste violations in Cannon Falls, $250.