[CPEO-BIF] "Auditor slams Minnesota Pollution Control Agency over Water Gremlin pollution, " White Bear, Minnesota

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Auditor slams Minnesota Pollution Control Agency over Water Gremlin pollution
Weak oversight of Water Gremlin's emissions ran 15 years, watchdog says. 

By  Jennifer Bjorhus 
Minneapolis Star Tribune 
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency repeatedly failed to regulate a Twin Cities manufacturer that violated its air permit for more than 15 years and spewed tons of a carcinogen into the air, according to the state's internal watchdog.

A report out Thursday by the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) slammed the state agency for "significant weaknesses" in its permitting and enforcement activities at Water Gremlin Co.

The MPCA didn't issue an air pollution permit to Water Gremlin for five years after the company first applied, the report said. So Water Gremlin operated with no air emission limits during those years as it emitted very large amounts trichloroethylene, or TCE, a degreaser classified as a hazardous air pollutant.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.startribune.com/auditor-slams-minnesota-pollution-control-agency-over-water-gremlin-pollution/600022029/

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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