Farmers Grain, LLC, a grain elevator in Thief River Falls, paid $18,120 in fines for pumping contaminated water from their property into the city of Thief River Falls stormwater system. The contaminated water, which discharged into the Red Lake River, contained rotting and decomposing grains and fertilizer. The Red Lake River has failed to meet water quality standards and is contaminated by pollutants. The pumping of the contaminated wastewater occurred in November 2023, but the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) did not receive notice of the violation until October 2024 and began the enforcement process to resolve this issue.
Farmers Grain agreed to immediately stop pumping the contaminated wastewater into the stormwater system, and:
- provide a written procedure to the MPCA that outlines how contaminated wastewater will be disposed of
- submit certification that all employees have been trained on how to dispose of contaminated wastewater
- submit an action plan that will reduce the amount of contaminated water created by the facility
- submit a timeline of when these corrective actions will be finalized
The MPCA remains committed to protecting human health and the environment by enforcing rules and regulations and 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.