A Buena Vista County-based grain elevator and agri-business entity has agreed to provisions from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to forestall litigation over alleged air quality violations. On Oct. 22, Ag Partners, L.L.C. signed an administrative consent order outlining required remediation efforts and a $6,500 penalty. The consent order states that on several dates from Oct. 20 of 2016 to April 29, 2020 the DNR received complaints about excessive amounts of dust emanating from the facility at 13 N. Main Street in Alta. As early as the first complaints, DNR field officers worked with Ag Partners management on ways to rectify the dust/chaff clouds that were so strong as to cause headaches for nearby residents. A Notice of Compliance letter was sent by the DNR on Sept. 9, 2017, giving Ag Partners until Oct. 1 of that same year to provide a compliance plan. Complaints, however, continued to roll in, coming from Alta’s mayor as well. As a result, Ag Partners installed pit baffles on a dump pit in September of this year. And although Ag Partners has come to an agreement with the DNR, they are neither admitting nor denying the conclusions of law made within the consent order. Required remediation includes the submission of a written compliance plan within 30 days addressing ways to resolve excess emissions. They must do at least one of the following: dump pit baffles, a dust control system or extend the enclosures no later than Dec. 1 of this year and within 45 days of the order employees must be trained in additional management practices to minimize dust in all areas of the facility. Within 60 days, the training materials used along with the dates and names of those participating must be submitted to the DNR.
