6.7. SR 12-21-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DEC. 11.1998 5:~SPM MPCA WOD MAxWA SECT MO.B88 P.~x5 DEPARTMENT: DATE: TO: FROM PHONE: SUBJECT: POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY December 10, 1998 Interested Pal~y Peder Larson/~ Commissioner 296-7301 Star Tribune Inve~tigt~ti.ve Report mt the MPCA STATE OF MINNESOTA Office Memorandum The Minnesota Polhtion Control Agency has been the subject of an investigative inquiry by the Star Tribune Newspaper since May 1998, While many lines of inquiry have been followed, the target now appears to be the state's effective regulation and enforcement of federal and state wastewater treatment permits among major Minnesota cities and industries. Because we lmve reason to believe that the out:omc of this inquiry will be published soon, we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the points we have attempted to make about our water quality program. !na_~propri~te Use of the EPA Database The Star Tribune plans to use an Environmental Protection Agency's database to show trends in environmental performance of the state's major wastewater treatment facilities, We and EPA have tried to point out the problems inherent in using the database for this purpose. Through extensive research we've determined that the system's inflexibility and limited capabilities lead to reporting errors showing false violations. Problems with data entry also cause inaccuracies in the data reported from the system. We've suggested flint better measures of performance are water quality indicators, the development of which is an important focus of the agency. Comp. liance Rate of Wqs~e. water TrearmeriLFacilitie~ We also disagree with the Star Tribune's use of annual numbers of violations recorded in the database since 1992 as a method of identifying a trend or comparing Minnesota to other states, Because permits issued today have more requirements than those issued a six or seven years ago or those issued in other states, there are more chances that a MLtmesota facility today might not meet a requirement on occasion~ (The number of permit requirements since 1992 has increased 32% for major industrial permits and 10% for major municipal permits.) In.qtead, we have proposed that the Star Tribune use a .compliance rate (100% - (# violations/# of requirements x 100)) to determine trends. The attached table shows the compliance rate from major facilities in the past seven fiscal years. In general, the state has reason to be pleased with the environmental performance of these wastewater treatment facilities. Despite increasing requirements and more stringent limits TDD (for hem~nt m~d apr~ch impalred onty): (612)282-5332 ~rinted on recycled ptlper co~ztm'n/ng at lea~t l O% fib~r~ from paper r~cy~lcd by con~ner$