Current:Home > Contact-usMinnesota agency had data on iron foundry’s pollution violations but failed to act, report says-InfoLens
Minnesota agency had data on iron foundry’s pollution violations but failed to act, report says
View Date:2024-12-23 16:45:41
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota iron foundry has been violating air emissions laws for at least five years, but the state agency responsible for enforcing air permits didn’t take action against the company, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency tested the air along the perimeter of Smith Foundry in Minneapolis in October 2022 and in April, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA said that both times, the state recorded high levels of particulate matter, which can cause heart attacks, asthmas and chronic health conditions.
But it wasn’t until a surprise EPA inspection in May that federal regulators made demands that the company comply with air pollution laws.
“It’s such a breach of trust,” said Joe Vital, who lives near the foundry. “The community has met for years with the MPCA asking them to inspect this facility. It’s just regulatory neglect.”
MPCA officials said they are reviewing the EPA’s findings.
“The MPCA is committed to scheduling a community meeting with the neighborhood as soon as possible,” a statement released Tuesday read. “We are also working to increase air monitoring near Smith Foundry.”
The newspaper reported that during the May 26 inspection, EPA investigators pulled the company’s last five years of emissions reports, which it submits annually to the state agency. In each of those years the company reported data indicating it emitted particulate-matter pollution at rates that were nearly twice as high or more than twice as high as state limits allowed.
Asked why it didn’t detect the violations, the MPCA said it doesn’t require the company to submit the data it would need to determine that.
The foundry has operated at the same site for 100 years and makes iron castings. It has about 50 employees and was purchased by Zynik Capital in December. MPCA emissions reports show that it has long been one of the biggest producers of lead pollution in Minnesota.
“We’re working with the EPA trying to get everything resolved,” foundry controller Ron Steffens told the Star Tribune. “We’ve been doing some maintenance around the plant to get things corrected.”
The company said in a statement that it replaced filters on its baghouses, welded cracks and replaced problem vents identified by inspectors. It pledged to meet “safe standards for our neighbors and union workers.”
The EPA wrote in a letter to the company in August that it could issue an administrative penalty order or pursue a civil or criminal complaint. An EPA official declined comment.
Evan Mulholland, a lawyer with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, questioned why the state wasn’t investigating the site long ago.
“This is not in the middle of nowhere — there’s a day care a quarter-mile away,” Mulholland said.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- NATO’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
- CBS News poll on how people are coping with the heat
- Inmate sues one of the nation’s largest private prison operators over his 2021 stabbing
- Judge blocks Arkansas law that would allow librarians to be charged for loaning obscene books to minors
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 8 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- Lady Gaga honors Tony Bennett in touching post after death: 'Will miss my friend forever'
- California juvenile hall on lockdown after disturbance of youth assaulting staff
- Judge denies Trump's bid to quash probe into efforts to overturn Georgia 2020 results
- Joey Logano wins Phoenix finale for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske
- Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
Ranking
- Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together
- Tennessee ban on paycheck dues deduction to teacher group can take effect, judges rule
- Inside the large-scale US-Australia exercise
- Judge blocks Arkansas law that would allow librarians to be charged for loaning obscene books to minors
- A crowd of strangers brought 613 cakes and then set out to eat them
- Super Bowl Champion Bruce Collie's 30-Year-Old Daughter Killed in Wisconsin Plane Crash
- 8-year-old survives cougar attack at Olympic National Park; animal stops when mother screams
- Cougar attacks 8-year-old camper at Olympic National Park
Recommendation
-
How Leonardo DiCaprio Celebrated His 50th Birthday
-
Jonathan Taylor refutes reports that he suffered back injury away from Indianapolis Colts
-
This man owns 300 perfect, vintage, in-box Barbies. This is the story of how it happened
-
NASA reports unplanned 'communications pause' with historic Voyager 2 probe carrying 'golden record'
-
Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
-
West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee given contract extension
-
NASA reports unplanned 'communications pause' with historic Voyager 2 probe carrying 'golden record'
-
The stars of Broadway’s ‘Back to the Future’ musical happily speed into the past every night