The Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company will pay an $80,770 civil penalty for violations of Minnesota storage tank and hazardous waste laws.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced the agreement with the Duluth-based railway on Tuesday.
The PCA alleged that the company violated above ground storage tank rules at railside facilities in Duluth, Two Harbors and Proctor and at a marine fuel storage facility in Two Harbors.
The violations were discovered by PCA tank and hazardous waste inspection staff between April 2005 and June 2005 and included failure to register above ground tanks and failure to properly operate and maintain them.
State law requires that above ground storage tanks be protected against corrosion, have spill containment areas and leak detection systems, as well as other safeguards designed to prevent spills and leaks.
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The company also failed to properly label and store lead-acid batteries and used oil waste containers and failed to prevent used oil releases that had the potential to contaminate underground waters at its Two Harbors facility.
Since the inspections the company has updated tank registrations, removed and replaced non-compliant tanks and improved truck-to-rail fueling procedures, PCA officials reported Tuesday. Under the agreement, the DM&IR also is required to complete ongoing projects to cleanup soil contamination.
The DM&IR in recent years has paid some $71,000 in fines and been cited by the PCA seven times since 2000 for violations of air quality regulations at several of its facilities.
The DM&IR, a Delaware-registered corporation now owned by the Canadian National Railway Company, delivers taconite pellets from Iron Range plants to Lake Superior shipping facilities.
