State taking input on new air permit for Water Gremlin
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The public has another chance to weigh in new requirements proposed for an eastern Twin Cities manufacturer with a history of pollution problems.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is accepting comments until March 3 on the draft air permit for Water Gremlin, which manufactures fishing sinkers and battery terminals in White Bear Township.
The five-year permit would impose more stringent limits on the pollutants Water Gremlin can emit, including volatile organic compounds, particulate matter and lead.
It also includes more requirements for air quality monitoring and record keeping.
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The MPCA first released a draft permit last July. After taking public feedback, officials decided to make changes and hold another comment period, said agency spokesperson Stephen Mikkelson. He said the latest version doesn’t remove any of the stricter limits or reporting requirements from last year’s draft.
Past violations
In 2019, the MPCA determined that Water Gremlin had violated its air quality permit by releasing too much of an industrial solvent known as trichloroethylene, or TCE, which is linked to negative health effects including cancer.
State agencies temporarily shut down Water Gremlin in October 2019 after finding that employees had tracked lead dust to their homes, causing elevated levels of lead in their children’s blood.
The company agreed to pay $7 million in fines and take corrective action. Minnesota was the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of TCE beginning last year.
Water Gremlin also has been hit with nearly 100 lawsuits accusing the company of causing wrongful death or chronic illness for some White Bear Township residents.
New permit proposed
The company’s previous permit, issued in 2006, didn’t expire. The new permit would need to be renewed every five years, giving regulators a chance to reevaluate the company’s operations, Mikkelson said.
“Is the permit holding true to how they're operating and doing the job of protecting the environment and people's health in the neighborhood?” he said. “If it's not, adjustments can be made to the permit.”
The draft permit requires Water Gremlin to install pollution equipment to control small particulate matter.
It also includes new monitoring requirements related to a replacement solvent for TCE called trans-1,2-dichloroethylene or t-DCE. And it requires testing, not only of the air surrounding the plant, but inside the facility as well.
“That's designed not only to protect the community, but to protect the people that work in the facility, to make sure that their work conditions are not hazardous to their health,” Mikkelson said.
The company also will be required to submit its emissions records to the MPCA on a daily basis, instead of periodically. That should help address public questions about whether Water Gremlin’s data can be trusted, Mikkelson said.
“The requirement to be reporting daily is one way that we’re pretty confident that we’ll have a better idea of how things are operating,” he said.
In a statement, Water Gremlin said it’s reviewing the revised draft permit and will be submitting additional comments to the MPCA.