According to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company’s (ADM) oilseed crushing and vegetable oil refining facility in Red Wing, Minnesota, committed multiple air pollution violations between 2017 and 2019. As part of the investigation, ADM is currently working on taking several corrective actions to prevent future violations and paid a $16,329.67 fine to the MPCA.
Violations included incorrectly reporting emissions in 2018, failing air quality performance tests in October and December 2019, having pressure drops that were out of range for air monitoring in 2019, and failing to meet pollution control equipment design requirements.
As part of their corrective actions, ADM passed the air quality performance test in March 2020. ADM has also met pollution control design requirements for some of their equipment and will assume no emission control credit until the remaining equipment has been certified and met requirements.
MPCA permits are designed to protect human health and the environment by limiting pollution emissions and discharges from facilities. When companies do not fully comply with permit requirements, the resulting pollution can be harmful to people and the environment. The MPCA offers outreach and training to help facilities meet their permit requirements.
When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how seriously the violations affected the environment, whether they were first-time or repeat violations, and how promptly the violations were reported to authorities. The agency also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit the company gained by failing to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner.
Share this
