On the homepage
Thanksgiving
Out There
Video
Reusse's Turkey
Winnebago ethanol plant faces up to $150,000 in pollution fines
Winnebago ethanol plant faces fines for dumping violations.
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Minnesota business by the numbers
See Minnesota's top earning companies, CEOs and non-profits
More from Business
Corn Plus, a 49-million-gallon ethanol plant in the southern Minnesota farming community of Winnebago, faces fines of up to $150,000 and other penalties for dumping pollutants into nearby Rice Lake, a misdemeanor violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
The company routinely dumped wastewater on its property, but much of that water then fed into nearby Rice Lake, contaminating it with ethanol byproducts, according to the U.S. attorney's office. The company does not have the appropriate permits for discharging the wastewater, according to court documents.
Prosecutors asked for a fine of $100,000, along with a $50,000 community service payment which, under the advice of the state Department of Natural Resources, could be used to help restore Rice Lake. The company should also draft an environmental plan and hire a compliance officer, the attorney's office recommended. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Attempts to reach Corn Plus officials were unsuccessful.
MATT MCKinney
Recent Business stories
- Ponzi scheme suspect liked cars -- and his submarine
- 2 charged with running $190M Ponzi scheme
- Shoppers got a turkey deal
- 3 state firms are accused of forging signatures
- Dubai debt fears hit world markets hard
- Tight economy forces some to stay home for holiday
- 'Christmas creep' pushes shopping ever earlier
Blog: Patent Pending
Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.
