| 8/10/2009 12:28:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Company fined, cleans up in IGH
Danielle Cabot
Review Staff
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has released their list of violations and penalties handed out during the second quarter of 2009.
Misdirected construction site draining in West St. Paul made the list, as did improper asbestos removal in South St. Paul.
However, the asbestos-removal issue provided an asbestos-free silver lining for the Inver Grove Heights school district.
Blaine-based EnviroTech Remediation Services Inc. was cited $13,200 for improper removal of asbestos.
Asbestos has been found to be carcinogenic if breathed in particle form. If the siding had been removed without breakage or without letting the panels sit on the ground, the company would have been pursuing "unregulated activity," because it would be causing little risk of letting the particles become airborne.
However, the MPCA claims the material was not kept wet to prevent dust, and breakage of the materials could have created an air-borne breathing hazard.
That automatically put the removal into the realm of a regulated activity that should have been reported to the MPCA beforehand, according to Derek Premble, an MPCA pollution control specialist. He did add that the cold temperatures could have contributed to the observed breakage. "It's very difficult to keep that material from breaking. You have to be very, very cautious."
Company chose the schools
Rather than paying the fine and sending the money to the state's general-fund coffers, EnviroTech representative David Sobaski said the company chose to put most of the money back into a supplemental environmental project, and his company performed $12,000 worth of asbestos removal for the Inver Grove Heights school district at no cost to the school.
Sobaski maintains the business did not do anything illegal and followed industry standards. He said paying the fine and doing the project was a business decision. "It would have cost us more to fight it and probably get out of it," said Sobaski. By doing the project, "it benefited us; it benefited the school; it benefited the MPCA."
"Some companies could care less, really," said Premble about just paying the fine. However, "there is a push at the MPCA to do these projects because it keeps civil penalties invested in environmental projects."
Asbestos, a fiber commonly used in building materials up until the later part of the last century, is still in some of the district's older structures, according to Bruce Rimstad, business manager of District 197. It's well-contained in "pockets" where it's not a hazard to staff and students, he added, but the district has been slowly removing the materials over the years. And District 197 has worked with EnviroTech in the past.
"We've always had our health and safety person work with the asbestos abatement company. We've never had problems in our district where it has not been done correctly," said Rimstad.
All in all, 11,000 square feet of ceiling tile and 300 pipe fittings were safely removed from the district buildings as a result of the project, according to Premble.
WSP paid for stormwater violation
West St. Paul and contractor Valley Paving Inc. were both fined $3,750 each for stormwater violations that occurred during the Stassen Lane reconstruction last year. According to MPCA compliance coordinator Lisa Woog, the project violated a permit that meticulously regulates how pollutants can be discharged. Water that accumulated near an excavation site on the south side of Sperl Street and East Butler Avenue was sent down a slope of exposed soil before gathering at a storm sewer outlet that flowed into nearby wetlands, according to Woog. A Dakota County soil and water inspector documented the violation.
According to Matt Saam, public works director for West St. Paul, the contractor was responsible for the site at the time, and the city has sent a letter expecting to be reimbursed for the fine that was incurred. He said this is the first time the city has been fined by the MPCA since he took the position in 2005. "It's unfortunate and not something that was planned, obviously."
The city and Valley Paving were required to immediately mitigate the flow of dirty water into the wetland and pay the fine to the state.
Danielle Cabot can be reached at southwest@lillienews.com or 651-748-7815.
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