Grede Foundry, located in St. Cloud, violated the terms of its air permit in 2024, according to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency investigation. Stack tests showed that the foundry was not meeting its pollution prevention limits of capturing 99% of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10) and 95% of volatile organic compounds (VOC). A stack test measures the levels of air pollution produced and the efficiency of pollution control equipment to reduce the amount of air pollution released by the facility. The tests showed the facility was capturing 96.5% of PM10 and 78.6% of VOC.
The facility was fined $30,000 for these violations and ordered to complete corrective actions which included:
- submitting operational data and analysis outlining what caused the performance test failure
- submitting an air permit amendment that will more accurately reflect their operations and that will make it easier for MPCA to track emissions from Grede going forward
- conducting performance tests on three additional pieces of control equipment for PM10 and PM less than 2.5 microns
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.