Under the consent agreement and final order, the company will pay a civil penalty of $59,597 and pay for two environmental projects totaling $37,068.
In its complaint, EPA alleged that the St. Paul-based dairy processor failed to submit in 2000 a required emergency and hazardous chemical inventory to the state of Minnesota and the local fire department, notifying them of the storage of ammonia, nitric and sulfuric acid above certain quantities at its facility on Rice Street in Maplewood. In subsequent communications with EPA, the facility also disclosed that it failed to file with EPA required forms in 1999 and 2000 indicating that it was using nitric acid.
For the environmental projects, the dairy processor will make two purchases: a new, upgraded safety alarm system valued at $34,468 for the Maplewood facility, and a portable defibrillator, valued at $2,600, that will be donated to the Maplewood Fire Department.
