State fines Denco II $250K for environmental violations at ethanol facility in Morris

Minnesota’s environmental protection agency has fined a local company, claiming multiple violations over a five-year period.

Denco II, a biotechnology company in Morris, was fined $250,000 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), according to a news release from the agency.

Denco II is a locally-owned ethanol production facility, according to the company’s Facebook page.

MPCA staff said the company “applied about 1.25 million gallons of wastewater to area agricultural fields” without a permit from 2017 to 2021. The news release states the company’s permit requires testing wastewater and soils before applying to land, and ensuring a certified land application professional oversees the process.

The release says there were three separate spills of byproduct, called beer marsh and wet cake, in the fall of 2021. The byproduct then flowed onto the ground and into the facility’s stormwater drain system.

The MPCA said the company was “slow to report the spills to the Minnesota Duty Officer” and that nearby wetlands were threatened.

The company offered the following statement in response to the fine:

“Denco II, LLC has voluntarily entered into an agreement with the MPCA to resolve alleged environmental permitting violations at its facility in Morris, Minnesota. While there was no harm to the community or environment, we understand that we needed to make some leadership and operational changes to ensure that we are in full compliance with Minnesota’s environmental permitting laws.  We believe that the changes we’ve made to date and those planned for the future show our continuing commitment to the health and safety of our staff, our community and our environment.”

The MPCA alleges other violations by Denco II, including:

• Exceeding pollutant limits for industrial stormwater discharges more than 30 times in 2021 and 2022. Such discharges can reduce oxygen in receiving waters and harm aquatic life.
• Accepting ethanol fuel and industrial waste alcohol to incorporate into its system at higher alcohol concentrations than allowed in its air permit.
• Missing deadlines for required air emissions tests for nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.

MPCA said the company also agreed to the following corrective actions:

• Hiring a third-party consultant to evaluate the facility’s discharges and recommend improvements to help prevent future effluent exceedances.
• Installing a series of cameras to help quickly identify and respond to future spills.
• Conducting comprehensive staff training on the facility’s environmental requirements.
• Hiring a third-party consultant to complete annual environmental audits of the facility operations to help ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
• Submitting proper permit modification applications appropriate to anticipated changes to facility operations.

The company was also penalized in 2021 for similar violations and was fined $18,634.