Gasoline leak spurs scrutiny of MPCA; Legislator suggests hearings on agency.(NEWS)

Some state legislators and others expressed concerns Thursday that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has become too lax in enforcing pollution laws against big industries, and one House committee leader said it may be necessary to hold hearings on the matter.

The issue arose after revelations that a recent gasoline leak near the Mississippi River came from a large amount of fuel pooled beneath the Koch refinery that company and MPCA officials have known about since 1992.

Rep. Willard Munger, DFL-Duluth, chairman of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, said the latest incident is one of several that make him think the MPCA has become too accommodating to industry.

"It's discouraging that we're backsliding when we've worked so hard to get some decent legislation on the books," he said.

Munger said he also is disappointed with agency decisions about how to clean up contamination at a U.S. Steel Corp. site in Duluth, and he said the MPCA is too lenient in protecting the environment as it regulates large hog farms. "The big operators are running the show, and the public is suffering," he said.

State Sen. Steve Morse, DFL-Dakota and chairman of the budget division that controls environmental appropriations, said he's increasingly concerned about the MPCA's approach.

Collaboration and cooperation with industry is fine as long as it works, he said, but "at some point you need an environmental cop."

Munger said the problem is not with the MPCA's staff, which he said has many "outstanding" workers, but with its leadership and its approach under Gov. Arne Carlson's administration, which he described as "soft-pedaling any regulations dealing with cleanups."

Munger said he's seriously considering legislative hearings to air the issue and is gathering information about additional problems related to agency performance. "I think some pressure should be put on MPCA," he said. "I'm watching this very closely."

Morse said the latest incident with Koch illustrates that the agency has failed to be tough enough in protecting the environment and that it doesn't have the right balance between helping industries comply with the law and making them do so if necessary.

"I think it's something the Legislature should take a close look at to make sure that balance is restored," he said. "I don't think MPCA's enforcement people can make the judgments they want to in an independent atmosphere."

MPCA Commissioner Peder Larson said the Koch incident is not typical of the agency's performance or of its commitment to enforce pollution laws vigorously when the circumstances require it.

"We have the best cleanup program in the country," he said. "It strikes a balance between immediate action when necessary and providing time to plan and do things in an orderly way when that's an option."

Larson took issue with those who think that the "command-and-control" approach to regulating big sources of pollution is the only way to achieve results or that cleanup standards must be rigid. "Cleanup standards have changed over the last few years across the nation, not based on who the polluter is, but based on human health risks and future use of the property," he said. "We could go back to trying to require cleanup to the nth degree, but we'd be in court all the time, and we'd have no results."

There may be times when the agency makes a mistake, he said, but the MPCA's record, especially in regulating hazardous wastes, has been very successful.

However, Bob Eleff, project director for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, is skeptical about those kinds of claims. Eleff worked on two audits in 1990 and 1994 that documented hundreds of water-quality violations and what he called "weak, informal and haphazard" enforcement by the MPCA.

Eleff said the Koch situation is consistent with that pattern.

"The MPCA took a gamble with environmental quality, and the environment lost," he said. "Their actions don't reflect the kind of environmental protection that Minnesotans expect."

1/3 At a glance

What the MPCA does

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was established in 1967 to protect the state's environment by regulating pollution and by monitoring air and water quality. The agency also has authority to regulate hazardous wastes, solid wastes and ground-water quality.

1/3 - Staff: The MPCA has about 800 staff members who work in its St. Paul headquarters and in five regional offices.

- Work: A nine-member citizens' board appointed by the governor holds monthly public meetings, sets policy for the agency and takes specific action on significant or controversial issues or projects. The agency is now working on a massive internal reorganization plan called Goal 21 that will affect all of its employees if implemented.

1/3 - More information: The MPCA has an information line at 296-6300 or 1-800-657-3864. The agency also has a home page on the Internet at http://www.pca.state.mn.us.