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Hennepin County recognizes generators and
facilities for having a hazardous waste program that is in full compliance with
hazardous waste rules and regulations.
Since
August 2017, the county has conducted 57 inspections where generators have been
in full compliance. The no violations listing not only shows that it is
possible for any size generator or facility to be in full compliance at the
time of the inspection, but that it also happens with some frequency.
  
Click here for a printable list of the 57 generators without a violation (PDF). This list also contains generator size.
The following is a list of enforcement outcomes from hazardous waste
violations. The list includes recently resolved civil and criminal cases,
including fines and penalties assessed by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) or Hennepin County. All
of the cases originated from violations found during inspections of hazardous
waste generators, hazardous waste facilities or tanks at businesses in Hennepin
County.
This list is intended to reinforce the importance of compliance with
hazardous waste and tank regulations.
The MPCA regulates a variety of
environmental programs, including but not limited to hazardous waste, solid
waste, construction stormwater, industrial wastewater and air quality. Each
quarter the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) highlights its concluded
enforcement cases in an online news release. Click
here for the results of the MPCA’s first quarter 2018
enforcement cases.
Anderson Automatics Inc., Brooklyn Park
Violations: failure to evaluate a waste
Generator size: very small quantity generator
Outcome: $828.00 fine
Macy’s Southdale, Edina
Violations: failure to submit a new waste
management plan
Generator size: very small quantity generator
Outcome: $578.00 fine
Quantum Graphics Inc., Eden Prairie
Violations: failure to evaluate a waste
Generator size: very small quantity generator
Outcome: $828.00 fine
Tires for Less, Minneapolis
Violations: failure to submit annual hazardous waste management plan
summary
Generator size: very small quantity generator
Outcome: $578.00 fine
Click here for a printable list of these enforcement outcomes (PDF).
If
you have any questions regarding compliance with environmental regulations or
wish to report a violation, call 612-348-3777 and ask for the environmental
specialist on call or email environment@hennepin.us.
 After
conversations with businesses and counties, the MPCA will continue to allow
puncturing of aerosol cans. The MPCA has withdrawn its plan to stop allowing
aerosol cans to be punctured, which would have gone into effect on January 1,
2018.
If you puncture aerosol cans, capture the drained liquids and
manage them appropriately, then recycle the metal can. If you don't want to
puncture cans, you can manage them as universal waste.
- More
information (PDF)
See "Apply now for clean air grants to reduce VOCs" below for information on VOC reduction funding available.
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EPA is establishing a national system for
tracking hazardous waste shipments electronically. This system, known as
“e-Manifest,” will modernize the nation’s cradle-to-grave hazardous waste
tracking process while saving valuable time, resources, and dollars for
industry and states. EPA anticipates launching e-Manifest on June 30, 2018.
By enabling the transition from a
paper-intensive process to an electronic system, the EPA estimates e-Manifest
will ultimately reduce the burden associated with preparing shipping manifests
by between 300,000 and 700,000 hours, saving state and industry users $75-$90M
annually.
Follow this link to learn more about
e-manifests: https://www.epa.gov/e-manifest/learn-about-hazardous-waste-electronic-manifest-system-e-manifest
Kevin Dynan owns Wayzata Home Laundry & Dry
Cleaners, a family-owned business in Wayzata. The family began using
perchloroethylene or “perc,” a chemical commonly used in dry cleaning, in 1968.
These days, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies perc as a
“likely carcinogen,” and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration
(OSHA) has extensive guidance on working with the chemical.
There is growing momentum in the
industry to change to a less toxic cleaning chemical called hydrocarbon. For
example, in 2017, Minneapolis became the first U.S. city to go perc-free in
drycleaning. Dynan started working at the family business in 1975. Using perc
to clean clothes was all he had ever known, and he had no interest in changing.
Even after an environmental cleanup at the business due to disposal methods
legal in the 1960s, changing processes was not appealing.
But then some dominoes started to
fall into place. The laundry added a wet-cleaning process, which uses nontoxic
biodegradable soap and water and is said to get clothes cleaner than the perc
cleaning process. However, not all garments can be wet-cleaned successfully.
The laundry’s older perc machines were using a large amount of fuel, and
required expensive repairs. Being a hazardous waste, perc was also
expensive to dispose of and is subject to a state tax.
An ad for more-efficient
hydrocarbon machines came across Dynan’s desk in 2017. Due to the cost of
upkeep on the old machines and the success he was having with the wet-washing
process, he decided to replace the perc machines with ones using hydrocarbon.
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“We ran the first loads in each machine on Thanksgiving Day, 2017. At that moment, I kicked myself for not making the change 20 years earlier” Dynan said. |
Wayzata Home Laundry & Dry Cleaners used a low-interest loan offered from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to help purchase the new equipment. He credited Hennepin County and the MPCA for being very accommodating. “All I had to do was sign the dotted line and send a check once a month,” he said. A good installation crew and mechanics also helped.
Dynan says he’s happy with the change. “The process is gentle on the clothes and the customers are happier.” It’s been six months and he has yet to fill a container of waste hydrocarbon solution, which, as a listed industrial waste, is much less expensive to dispose of than hazardous waste.
If you have a dry cleaning business and are thinking of switching away from perc, check out MPCA’s low-interest loans at https://www.pca.state.mn.us/about-mpca/small-business-environmental-loan-program.
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MPCA grants are now open for cost-effective projects to reduce volatile organic compound emissions (VOCs) in a range of Minnesota-based organizations. VOCs come from solvents, inks, coatings, cleaners, and vehicles as well as process or maintenance equipment used every day across the state. Using alternatives can save money, and protect employee and community health. |
VOCs are common air pollutants that can
form smog and cause health effects like eye and throat irritation, headaches,
and nausea. These effects can be particularly noticeable in highly urbanized
communities.
Over 20 Minnesota
organizations have already been granted $660,000 to reduce VOCs.
These projects reduced about eighteen tons of VOCs annually, equal to more than
72,000 cans of spray paint.
Eligible applicants:
·
Small businesses under 500 employees
(e.g. manufacturers, printers, industrial finishers, automotive, metal casting,
etc)
- Governmental agencies
- Educational institutions
- Non-profits
- Trade groups
- Associations
The maximum grant award is $24,000 with
a 50% required match. The most cost-effective projects will score highest.
Special consideration will be given for innovative projects from targeted
applicants in environmental justice and highly urbanized areas.
Learn
more and apply. Deadline
May 18, 2018.
For large quantity, small quantity and very
small quantity hazardous waste generators, annual generator licenses are valid
from May 1 of the license year through April 30 of the following year. To be
eligible to receive your 2018 Hennepin County hazardous waste generator license,
you must submit a hazardous waste management plan summary and pay your
license fee.
Generator licenses are created for eligible
generators beginning in mid-April. Once your license is created, the person
designated as administrator in the hazardous waste portal will be notified
via email that your license is available for printing. You must print your
license and post it at the licensed site.
The following is a guide to when licenses will
be available in 2018, based on when your payment is posted:
- Payment posted on or before March 31: license created
mid-April
- Payment posted April 1 to 16: License created first
working day in May
- Payment posted April 17 to May 16: License created
first working day in June
- Payment posted after May 16: Licenses continue to be
created for eligible generators on the first working day of each
subsequent month
See
the licensing schedule and
fees for more information
about the licensing process.
If
you are a minimal generator, you are not subject to the same annual licensing
process as larger generator sizes.
Instead, you are issued a license that is valid for a five year license
period. The current license period for
minimal generators began on January 1, 2015, and runs through December 31,
2019.
A
minimal generator that is registered in our customer portal may log into the
portal and view the wastes covered by their license, they may add new wastes to
their license, they may review and update the contact person information for
their operation and they may print a copy of their current (2015) license. Information for how to register in the
customer portal was sent out to all minimal generators when the 2015 licenses
were issued (see the back side of the license).
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Environmental Assistance grants provide financial assistance for the development of
environmentally sustainable practices in Minnesota through voluntary
partnerships and goal-oriented, economically driven approaches to pollution
prevention and resource conservation. Through a competitive application
process, MPCA seeks projects which further the agency's mission of working with
Minnesotans to protect, conserve, and improve our environment and enhance
quality of life in the state.
Application deadline: Due no later than June
26, 2018 (2:00 p.m. Central Time)
If you experience difficulty in accessing the
MPCA EA Program webpage or in electronically submitting your application, please
contact the MPCA at grants-loans.pca@state.mn.us or Jeannie
Given at 651-757-2459.
The Recycling Association of Minnesota and
the Solid Waste Association of North America, Land of Lakes Chapter, have
hosted the very successful and well attended RAM/SWANA conference for over
twenty years. This year's conference will be held on October 15 & 16 at
the Minneapolis Marriott NW,
located in Brooklyn Park, MN. The hazardous waste pre-conference training event will be held
on October 15.
For more information visit the RAM/SWANA
website.
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