The Iowa attorney general’s office announced Monday that it has slapped a Nevada, Iowa ethanol plant a $176,750 fine for air and water pollution violations from 2006 to 2008.
The fine was handed out by a District Court concluding a civil lawsuit brought by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The suit accused the company of emitting air pollutants including particulates and nitrogen oxides above permitted limits on “numerous occasions” from December 2006 to December 2008. The company also was accused of failing to conduct required stack tests in 2007 to prove it met emission limits. State lawyers said the plant also failed to comply with continuous monitoring requirements. Lincolnway discharged treated sewage containing excess pollutants, including iron, suspended solids and chlorine, into West Indian Creek in 2006 and 2007. The firm fixed the problems, the state reported.
The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission in December 2007 asked the attorney general’s office to take the case because lawyers at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources thought a fine of more than $10,000 was appropriate. The department is limited to the $10,000 fine, but the Attorney General’s office is not.
Story County District Judge Dale E. Ruigh on Monday approved an agreement between the state and the firm, resolving the state’s lawsuit against the plant.
Lincolnway President Rick Brehm said the problems have been fixed, including retooling to prevent sending too much iron into wastewater from the plant’s water purification system. The facility also should be able to meet a proposed new package of air-emission limits.
The plant, which began operation in May 2006, has a production capacity of 55 million gallons of ethanol and 178,440 tons of distillers dried grains per year.
Source: DesMoinesRegister.com
