MPCA settles lawsuit with longtime employee who raised petroleum complaints
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has settled a lawsuit filed by a former employee who raised concerns about how the agency handles petroleum leak sites.
Mark Toso resigned last year after nearly 30 years at the MPCA. He spent the last decade as a hydrologist in the petroleum remediation program, which is responsible for investigating, evaluating and removing risks from petroleum releases from storage tanks.
Toso sued the agency in Ramsey County District Court last November, claiming he faced retaliation for his repeated complaints that the program was failing to protect groundwater and endangering public health.
In the settlement agreement reached last month, the MPCA agreed to pay Toso $159,000 plus mediation fees to settle the lawsuit. It did not admit any wrongdoing.
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Toso, who now works in the private sector, said he's still glad he filed the lawsuit.
"This issue needed to get out there,” he said. “People need to understand that the agency, despite all they claim, isn't exactly as ethical as one would hope they would be."
Petroleum storage tanks — often buried underground — can corrode over time and leak chemicals into the soil and groundwater, the source of drinking water for three-fourths of Minnesotans.
Toso raised concerns that the MPCA closed some leak sites, including one in the Stearns County town of Paynesville, without fully removing the contamination, leaving it to biodegrade. The MPCA has said it is confident the Paynesville plume isn't moving, and the city’s drinking water is safe.
In an emailed statement, the MPCA said the agreement to settle Toso’s lawsuit “is in the best interest in Minnesota taxpayers and avoids a lengthy and expensive trial.” It is not an admission to any allegations about the MPCA or its work, the statement read.
“The MPCA stands by all our work to ensure that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate, including working swiftly and thoroughly to address environmental impacts of contamination from petroleum leaks,” it stated.
Still, Toso said he thinks the concerns he raised helped spur the MPCA to go back and review old leak sites, although he said that process is moving slowly.
This year, the Legislature approved $200,000 for four Minnesota cities — Paynesville, Blaine, Alexandria and Foley — to analyze whether leaded gasoline from leaking storage tanks is putting their drinking water at risk.
In February, the Office of the Legislative Auditor released an evaluation of the petroleum remediation program that called for better regulation and oversight of consultants hired to work at petroleum release sites.
The MPCA said it is using the recommendations by the legislative auditor “to continue to improve our processes and guidance to ensure consistent and optimal outcomes.”