Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fines POET Biorefining for water quality violations

In Minnesota, according to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation, POET Biorefining LLC, in Glenville, Minnesota, exceeded its permitted stormwater discharge limits, including total suspended solids and carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD), the measurement of dissolved oxygen depletion in wastewater released into a body of water. 

Other violations included missing 10 percent of required sampling collection and reporting between March 2019 and March 2022, submitting monthly and annual reports late, missing flow meter calibrations, and missing stormwater inspections.

In addition to paying a $12,029 civil penalty to the MPCA, POET Biorefining developed and implemented revised operating plans to ensure similar violations would not occur in the future.