According to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation, Carver County and Veit Companies, LLC, failed to adequately use sediment control measures during summer 2021 construction at the Trunk Highway 5 Regional Trail. The violations occurred within the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum near Chaska.
Sediment-laden stormwater flowed into a wetland due to a lack of sediment control measures on thousands of square feet of exposed and unstabilized soils at the project site. In addition, concrete washout and diesel fuel spilled at the construction site may have mixed in the runoff.
For violating their construction stormwater permit, Carver County has paid $16,892 and Veit Companies has paid $16,292 in civil penalties to the MPCA. The parties have also completed a series of corrective actions to recover sediment from the wetland, and installed and maintained erosion and sediment control best management practices, as required by the permit.
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 takes into account 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.
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