Sep. 25—The City of Austin has paid a fine of $14,156 for exceeding wastewater permit limits 16 times over an eight-month period in 2024, according to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) investigation.
In a release from the MPCA on Thursday, it was stated that the city of Austin’s wastewater treatment plant discharged ammonia and fecal coliform over permitted limits into the Cedar River.
In a statement from the city, provided by City Engineer Steven Lang, Austin continues to work to provide an operation that serves the city’s needs as well as protecting water.
“The city operates an aging wastewater treatment plant that is currently undergoing major improvements,” Thursday’s statement read. “Ensuring the reliable operation of the facility — and protecting water quality — remains a top priority. We have already implemented several actionable steps to help prevent further discharge violations, and we continue to monitor performance closely as upgrades progress.”
In addition to paying the penalty, the city agreed to complete the following actions, including the submission of:
* A plan describing improvements to the wastewater treatment plant to keep effluent results within permitted limits
* An updated individual control mechanism plan to prevent pollution
When calculating penalties, the MPCA considers how seriously the violations affected or could have affected the environment, and whether they were first-time or repeat violations.
The $105 million project to update the aging plant has been ongoing across the last couple years, though planning has gone back several more. In July, during a tour with members of the Austin City Council, Lang said that the project was $70 million into the project after having met a major milestone in June when the activated sludge process was brought online.
“Getting that started up in May and June allows us to move on now to the next phases of work,” Lang said at the time, noting that the process is “tracking about where we should be.”
The overall project first started in 2016 with construction beginning in 2023, and when construction reaches the substantial completion of the plant on Oct. 31, 2026, it will have marked 10 years in total.