The Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative emitted higher levels of hydrogen sulfide than allowed from its Renville facility, resulting in a $1.15 million fine following an investigation by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
The Renville County Public Health Department will receive $460,000 of the $1.15 million fine. Under 2023 legislation, the MPCA directs 40 percent of fines of more than $250,000 to the community affected by that pollution.
The MPCA investigation found that the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative violated its hydrogen sulfide limit of 0.03 parts per million 1,023 times between 2019 and 2025. Over the same period, the facility violated a separate hydrogen sulfide limit of 0.05 parts per million 279 times.
Hydrogen sulfide is caused by improperly treated wastewater. Hydrogen sulfide exposure can cause temporary eye, nose, or throat irritation, headaches, and, in some cases, breathing difficulties for people with asthma.
In addition to the $1.15 million fine, the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative will submit to the MPCA a plan to address the amount of hydrogen sulfide from its facility. The plan must include new actions to control and reduce emissions and avoid violations and an expected completion date for each action item. At a minimum, the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative will evaluate:
- the addition of two equalization tanks to strengthen wastewater processing infrastructure
- improvements to existing lagoons at its facility used to process wastewater
- improvements to on-site testing capabilities for faster testing and corrective action response
- conducting continuous improvement training for new and existing wastewater managers and team members, with documentation of the training to be kept on site
- installation of a bulk volume fermenter and flow equalization system
The MPCA remains committed to protecting human health and the environment by enforcing rules and regulations and limiting pollution and discharges from facilities. When facilities 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.