Lincoln, Neb.-A bulk fertilizer and pesticide mixing plant in Axtell has been assessed a $13,200 civil penalty, plus an equal amount to be paid into the Nebraska Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Fund, for causing contaminated stormwater to flow into a wetlands north of town, according to state environmental investigators. Half of the fine will be waived if the operation, which was Midland Co-op when the violations occurred and merged recently with Cooperative Producers Inc. (CPI), is in compliance for 180 days, according to the consent decree. CPI is also required to submit, within 30 days, plans to the Dept. of Environmental Quality for corrective measures, including construction of secondary containment facilities and secondary containment operation and maintenance records for the past three years. According to a DEQ report written following a Nov. 7, 2006, inspection of the Axtell co-op, employees would pump liquids captured by secondary containment structures into an earthen drainage channel running between the fertilizer storage site and pesticide-chemical loading and mixing building. The drainage channel empties into a barrow pit at the west end of the property. When it fills, it drains into a pathway running through Axtell, ending up in the wetlands. Investigators, who indicated water samples from the barrow pit showed high levels of fertilizer and pesticides, are requiring water in the barrow pit to be drained and properly disposed of within 90 days of the order. The pit must be properly abandoned within 120 days. DEQ officials also claimed that the facility had failed to immediately notify the state agency that the contaminated water had been discharged into the waters of the state. CPI agreed to the terms without admitting any to allegations of the complaint.
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