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St. Paul, Minn.--The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
has penalized Greenheck Fan Corp., doing business in Minneapolis as Innovent
Air Handling, LLC, a manufacturer of large heavy-duty air handling systems, for
operating a paint booth that did not have a required air emissions permit.
The
company conducted an environmental audit of all of its North American
manufacturing locations in 2009, including the Minneapolis facility. The audit
revealed that the previous owner of the facility had installed a spray coatings
booth in 2006 without obtaining a required MPCA air quality permit for the
installation and operation of the booth.
When the company discovered the lack of a permit, they took
steps to bring the paint booth into compliance. In 2011, they hired a consultant
to help determine what type of permit was needed, and submitted an application
to the MPCA for a type of air emission permit called a registration permit,
which is suitable for certain facilities with small amounts of emissions. However,
the potential air emissions from the facility exceeded the maximum levels for
which a registration permit would be appropriate, and the MPCA rejected the
application.
Meanwhile, the company was required under state law to submit
an annual emission inventory report to the MPCA for each year the paint booth
was in operation, and to this date the MPCA has not received these reports.
To resolve the violations, Greenheck agreed to pay $50,000 to
the state as a civil penalty. In addition, the company proposed to undertake
work valued to at least $315,000 to switch over to paint with non-hazardous
emissions in the facility’s primary paint system over the next 15 years, and to
minimize the use of other paints or coatings in the facility.
The switch-over project may exceed $315,000 in cost, but the
enforcement agreement obligates the facility to spend at least that much. The
agreement also specifies that if the facility abandons the project prior to
completion, it will pay an additional civil penalty of at least $78,750 to the
state.
In addition to paying a the civil penalty and committing to the paint
switch-over project, Greenheck also agreed to submit the required annual
emission inventory reports for 2006 to 2012 and to pay unpaid air emission fees
for those years. The company also will apply for the proper category of air
quality permit and operate the facility in compliance with it until it is
issued.
When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how
seriously the violation affected the environment, whether it is a first-time or
repeat violation, and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate
authorities. It also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit gained
by failure to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner. Supplemental
environmental projects, such as the paint switch-over project in this case, are
often included in enforcement actions in lieu of further civil penalties when
there is an opportunity to achieve additional environmental benefits through
projects the regulated party has the capability to undertake and is willing to
commit legally to follow through on them.
For a comprehensive
list of enforcement actions by the MPCA, refer to the agency website at www.pca.state.mn.us.
Broadcast version
A Minneapolis manufacturer of heavy-duty ventilation equipment will pay a fifty thousand dollar penalty to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for not having the proper air permits to control emissions from a paint booth.
Innovent Air Handling Equipment, LLC, owned by Greenheck Fan Corporation, operated the booth without required permits since 2006, and did not submit required annual emission reports to the M-P-C-A. To resolve the violations, the company also agreed to spend at least three hundred fifteen thousand dollars over the next fifteen years to switch over to paints with non-hazardous emissions.
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The mission of the MPCA is to protect and improve the environment and enhance human health.
St. Paul • Brainerd • Detroit Lakes • Duluth • Mankato • Marshall • Rochester • Willmar
www.pca.state.mn.us • Toll-free and TDD 800-657-3864
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