Latest news with #NorthernIron
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State seeks to cancel permit for St. Paul's Northern Iron foundry
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has begun the process of canceling the operating permit for a St. Paul metal foundry that employs some 80 United Steelworkers on the city's East Side. Officials with Lawton Standard, which owns the Northern Iron and Machine foundry in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, received notice from the MPCA on Wednesday that they had officially run afoul of the regulatory agency, which has sought for years to enforce deeper controls over emissions and heavily reduce foundry production. 'After prolonged attempts to get necessary information from Northern Iron, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today took the first steps to revoke the company's operating permit,' reads a written statement from the MPCA. 'We have repeatedly requested information required under state law for us to issue a permit that would allow Northern Iron to operate in a way that protects human health and the environment. … We do not have reasonable assurance that the company can comply with a permit.' The permit revocation is not immediate. The MPCA described it as a 'rare and lengthy process' that likely will entail a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge. The foundry, which dates to 1906, is allowed to maintain its operations throughout that process. The MPCA fined Northern Iron $41,500 in 2023 for out-of-date pollution control equipment, as well as equipment updated without a permit. A more recent MPCA investigation tested soot collecting on homes near the foundry and found toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and manganese, which residents in a recent legal action have described as evidence it originated from the Forest Street metal plant. Calling the company's PurpleAir testing equipment outdated, the MPCA issued an April 2024 order limiting Northern Iron's material processing to 10 tons per day, or roughly a third of normal production. That limit held until it was lifted by a July 2024 decision from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro. Company officials maintain their monitors show dust particles and lead levels to be well within state standards, and that the MPCA has misinterpreted the data. In a written statement Wednesday, they said revoking their existing operating permit without processing the company's new permit application is 'unprecedented' and 'not supported by any evidence or data from extensive environmental monitoring of the facility.' The MPCA 'has officially determined that it wants to shut down a business, lay off people, and needlessly scare the community by ignoring facts, data, and a judge's decisions,' they wrote. 'The MPCA is not following the rule of law as a regulator, which is unacceptable.' In March, residents from the Payne-Phalen neighborhood filed a class action lawsuit against the foundry owners in Ramsey County District Court, claiming emissions have lowered their home values, damaged property and left them dealing with soot and dust on their houses. Lawton Standard, which is based in DePere, Wis. and maintains foundries in six states, purchased the Northern Iron foundry in August 2022. The foundry makes casings and custom metal parts for national clients. St. Paul's Maxfield Elementary breaks ground on 'community schoolyard' Ex-teacher of Hmong College Prep Academy in St. Paul sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with student Four candidates file for Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council Canadian wildfire smoke causes 'very unhealthy' conditions in American Midwest and reaches Europe 40 St. Paul street lights stripped of copper wiring, though reports are down overall
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MPCA sets May 8 deadline or it may yank East Side foundry's permit
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is threatening to revoke an essential permit for a long-running metal foundry on St. Paul's East Side. The MPCA has given Northern Iron until May 8 to provide key information related to its operating permit and efforts to capture emissions from its Forest Street foundry. Frank Kohlasch, assistant commissioner for air and climate policy at the regulatory agency, said if company does not provide the requested 'building capture' data by that deadline, the agency will begin to revoke its permit. Northern Iron, which was acquired in August 2022 by Lawton Standard of De Pere, Wis., has maintained a foundry near Phalen Boulevard and Arcade Street in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood since 1906. It employs about 80 United Steelworkers manufacturing metal casings and machine parts. The company was fined $41,000 by the MPCA in October 2023 for permitting and air-quality monitoring violations that occurred over the course of 15 years. Since then, Northern Iron and the regulator have warred in court over whether the company is making a good-faith effort to meet state emissions and air quality monitoring standards written out in a 2023 stipulation agreement. MPCA officials said they had made multiple requests for building data related to operations and emissions at the facility itself, mostly recently in a March 6 letter. The company, they said, refused to provide data related to a requirement that it maintain 100% 'building capture,' and did not implement its own 'building capture' plan. 'Northern Iron failed again to provide the information MPCA has been requesting for months and what little information was provided remains deficient,' said Kohlasch, in a written statement issued Thursday. 'Minnesota law requires that the MPCA be satisfied the permitee will achieve compliance, that the applicant will maintain compliance with all conditions of the permit, and that all laws … have been fulfilled. Once again, based on the information Northern Iron has provided to date, the MPCA cannot make the determination that Northern Iron has met those conditions.' In addition to the building capture data, the MPCA has demanded that the company complete stack testing and submit a plan to support that testing, with the goal of improving lead detection. Hood evaluations and certifications also must be completed. In the past three years, the MPCA has maintained that the company's own modeling information showed emissions levels of three different pollutants far above acceptable levels established by the Clean Air Act. Lead emissions, large particulate matter and fine particulate matter have all at times registered many times above the national standard for ambient air quality. The company, in response, has maintained that those errors took place under previous ownership, or readings near the foundry came in high on days the foundry was not in operation, such as during the Fourth of July or Canadian wildfires. Northern Iron presented to the courts readings from 10 company and MPCA air-quality monitors showing air particulate matter to hover around 30% of national air-quality standards, or 70% below limits. Calling the company's PurpleAir testing equipment outdated, the MPCA issued an April 2024 order limiting Northern Iron's material processing to 10 tons per day, or roughly a third of its normal 25- to 30-ton production. That limit, which reduced the company's workforce, held until a July 2024 decision from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro lifted it. The company's petition to the court, filed in May of last year, called MPCA pollution modeling assumptions off base and computed on a 24-hour production schedule rather than on actual output. The company offered alternative compliance plans, which the MPCA rejected. State regulators have maintained the company is still responsible for removing and replacing emission units and control equipment, failing to recertify hoods after making changes, and operating some of its pollution-control equipment out of permitted ranges. In its previous permit applications, Northern Iron also failed to fully list the facility's activities that would have required it to conduct ambient air-quality modeling, according to the MPCA. In March, residents in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood filed their own class action lawsuit, claiming emissions have lowered their home values, damaged property and left homes coated in soot and dust. The civil action, filed in Ramsey County District Court, seeks unspecified damages and names the Lawton Standard Co., Northern Iron LLC and Specialty Metals Holdco, LLC as defendants. The lawsuit notes that an MPCA investigation tested soot collecting on homes near the foundry and found toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and manganese, which the suit calls evidence it originated from the Forest Street metal plant. Jim Gelbmann: Our partisan endorsement process is unrepresentative, polarizing and self-serving History Theatre season includes new musical about the St. Paul Winter Carnival St. Paul City Council may lower noise limits for Breakaway Music Festival A new Minnesota cover crop could help make air travel greener, UMN St. Paul researchers say St. Paul alley shooter gets 17-year prison sentence for killing man on East Side
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen file class action suit against Northern Iron foundry
Residents of St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood have filed a class action lawsuit against the owners of the Northern Iron and Machine metal foundry, claiming emissions have lowered their home values, damaged property and left them dealing with soot and dust. The civil action, filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court, names the Lawton Standard Co. of De Pere, Wis., Northern Iron LLC and Specialty Metals Holdco, LLC as defendants in the suit, which was filed on behalf of neighborhood resident Brittney Bruce and others living within a half-mile of the foundry. The suit, which claims three counts of nuisance, negligence, and the trespass of pollutants, dust and soot on residents' homes, seeks unspecified damages and 'equitable relief enjoining defendants from engaging in … wrongful conduct.' The plaintiffs are represented by the law firms of Storms Dworak LLC of Minneapolis and Liddle Sheets, PC of Michigan, which specializes in class action cases involving pollution. The complaint notes Northern Iron was fined $41,500 in 2023 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for air quality permit violations. A recent MPCA investigation tested soot collecting on homes near the foundry and found toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and manganese, which the suit calls evidence it originated from the Forest Street metal plant. 'We allege Northern Iron has permitted pollutants to invade the homes of St. Paul families for years, despite repeated warnings from environmental regulators,' said Joe Heegaard, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, in a written statement. 'This lawsuit seeks justice for the residents who have suffered property damage due to what we believe amounts to the company's disregard for its neighbors.' Lawton Standard, which has promoted the foundry as a longstanding community employer, has denied that the foundry's emissions remain out of step with state standards. The history of the foundry dates back more than a century to 1906, and they maintain that compliance troubles with state permitting — such as out-of-date pollution control equipment and equipment updated without a permit — occurred before Lawton purchased the Forest Street foundry in 2022. Northern Iron, which produces custom metal parts for clients, employs nearly 80 United Steelworkers, some of whom are second-generation employees, and chief executive officer Alex Lawton expressed interest last year in improving community relations and even expanding operations. 'Northern Iron does not comment on active litigation and will not be providing any comments at this time,' reads a statement forwarded Thursday by a spokesperson for Lawton Standard. The Payne-Phalen neighborhood is designated an 'environmental justice' area under Minnesota law, as a large percentage of residents are people of color or living in low-income households. Calling some of the company's PurpleAir testing equipment outdated, the MPCA issued an April 2024 order limiting Northern Iron's material processing to 10 tons per day, or roughly a third of normal 25- to 30-ton production. That limit held for several months, until a July 2024 decision from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro lifted it after he reviewed the data himself. The company's petition to the court, filed in May of last year, calls MPCA pollution modeling assumptions off base and based on a 24-hour production schedule rather than actual output. It also said the ordered production limits would likely lead the foundry to be shut down. The company has offered alternative compliance plans, which the MPCA has rejected. Last July, state lawmakers representing the East Side of St. Paul expressed concern with the Castro decision and called for a return to the 10-ton processing limit. Local News | St. Paul: Ryan Cos. plan for four one-story buildings along Ford Parkway inch closer to approval by default Local News | Final wish of St. Paul officer brutally assaulted on job 15 years ago was full police funeral, which she'll get Local News | Six months after devastating fire, Vietnamese restaurant Khue's Kitchen is open in St. Anthony Park Local News | St. Paul man charged in 3 sex assaults arrested, police still looking for potential victims Local News | St. Paul City Council to hear appeal of FCC Environmental trash truck site on March 19
