Iron Range mine fined for violating air quality permit

A mine on Minnesota's Iron Range is being penalized for failing to adhere to its air quality permit.

The mines generally don't directly measure emissions, instead they report operations data that indicate how much particulate matter and other pollutants they are emitting.

The reports from Alcelor Mittal's Minorca mine near Virginia were incomplete, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Katie Koelfgen.

"They were filing the reports, the reports just indicated that readings were being missed and records were not being kept," Koelfgen said, meaning the MPCA doesn't know whether the company was polluting the air beyond what its permit allows.

For three years of incomplete reports, the MPCA fined Alcelor Mittal $19,000, and it's requiring the company to file a plan to ensure future compliance.

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