MUSCATINE, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced on Thursday the filing of an amendment to the state's environmental lawsuit against a Muscatine-based grain processing facility.
In December 2011, Miller's office filed a lawsuit against Grain Processing Corporation for allegedly emitting excess particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, failing to obtain a construction permit to prevent significant deterioration of the air quality, failing to maintain and repair equipment to prevent and remedy excess emissions, failing to obtain a construction permit for a 1.9 million gallon anaerobic shelter for the faculty's wastewater treatment system and failing to comply with reporting, notification and emission reduction requirements for hazardous air pollutants.
The amendment alleges additional environmental violations, which include but are not limited to failure to obtain certain air permits or comply with existing permits, excess air emissions, failure to report all actual air pollutant emissions and failure to provide required air emission controls.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief requiring the company to comply with state environmental laws and civil penalties for the alleged violations. The suit is scheduled for trial on Sept. 23.
GPC processes grain into ethanol and various industrial, feed and food products. The Muscatine facility includes more than 300 emission units which emit or can emit multiple air pollutants.
In 2006, GPC paid a $538,000 civil penalty to the state for failure to comply with construction permits that limited particulate emissions.
Iowa AG files amendment to Muscatine environmental lawsuit
