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Jon Collins
St. Paul

St. Paul metal recycler agrees to pay $20k after complaints of smelly runoff

A pool of water at Metro Metals Corporation in St. Paul.
A pool of water at Metro Metals Corporation in St. Paul.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

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A St. Paul scrap metal recycling plant has agreed to pay $20,000 after complaints it discharged contaminated stormwater into a railroad ditch that drained into a nearby creek.

Metro Metals Corporation is located near Highway 280 close to the Minneapolis border. In the stipulation agreement, the company does not admit wrongdoing but does agree to pay the penalty and improve stormwater management practices.

"They acknowledge that the facts based on the violations are hard to dispute, or unable to be disputed and, therefore, they acknowledge that these sort of violations will cease," said Melissa Wenzel, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency principal on the agreement.

Wenzel said citizens and Ramsey County had filed complaints about the company's discharge dating back to 2011. The company was storing stormwater runoff in an underground pool, then piping it into a railroad ditch that drained into nearby Bridal Veil Creek, according to the agreement.

State and Ramsey County inspectors in 2016 found vehicle fluids pooling on the ground, scrap materials and car debris scattered around and discharge containment equipment that could overflow. They also saw discolored stormwater with a "strong obnoxious odor" coming out of the company's underground stormwater pond and causing visible oil sheen and discoloration in the creek.

Metro Metals has also agreed in the proposal finalized last month to replace their current crusher, submit a plan for stormwater management to the state and clean up any contaminants or pools.

"In this type of industry, there are going to be piles of materials and scrap, and even potential spills, what needs to occur is management practices to clean up the spills, to prevent the contaminated discharges from staying on the ground or getting into our waters," Wenzel said.

The company's CEO Randy Heiligman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.