WILLMAR -- The Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission will negotiate a settlement rather than fight the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over what the agency said were power plant permit violations.
The commission voted to seek the settlement after members closed part of their noon meeting Monday to discuss possible litigation with EPA.
The sett-lement vote was taken after the meeting re-opened.
The violations grew out of an EPA re-quest for information about local power plant projects during the past 25 years.
The utility sent information to EPA last year and had been waiting for a response, said Utility General Manager Bruce Gomm.
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He said EPA could have issued a fine but proposed a settlement in lieu of going through the violation pro-cess.
As a settlement, the utility is proposing $10.5 million in air quality improvements and other projects that the utility was already planning to undertake at the power plant during the coming year, Gomm explained.
Gomm said the projects hinge on air permit modification approval from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Gomm said the commission did not like the position that EPA had placed the city-owned utility in.
"We are fairly confident that we didn't do anything that would have violated anything,'' he said. "But it was one of those situations where it could cost more to fight the battle than just negotiate a settlement. The one thing that we have going in our favor about the whole subject is that we really didn't do very much to the power plant in the last 25 years.''
The utility is already proceeding with plans to reduce coal dust. Gomm told the commission that City Attorney Rich Ronning reached agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway on Dec. 22 under which the utility bought railroad property just north of the power plant where the coal is stored. The cost is about $130,000.
The property lies between Seventh Street and 10th Street Southwest and between Pacific Avenue and the tracks. The utility is planning to erect a structure to enclose the coal stockpile and loading and unloading areas, said Gomm. The property also will provide space for equipment storage and facility expansion.
Utility officials were never sure of the outcome of negotiations with the railroad but Gomm was pleased to announce the utility now owns the land.
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"We feel very, very good about that,'' he said. "It's a long time coming. A lot of work went into making that happen. In the end I feel very good about the process and the fact that we were able to accomplish this goal and it will mean a lot moving forward with the power plant project.''
The utility will be seeking City Council approval to vacate the streets. Closure signs and barricades will be erected.
In other business, the commission:
- Added $90,000 to the 2011 power production department budget to replace a south substation capacitor bank that failed on Dec. 7 and caused a 35-minute power outage in south Willmar. Gomm recommended replacing the 30-year-old capacitor bank, which had reached its useful life. He said the manufacturer and vendor said replacing the unit was more cost-effective than repairing it. The capacitor bank is critical for support on the transmission system, he said.
- Honored outgoing commissioner Gary Myhre with a plaque for serving from 2008 through 2010. Mayor Les Heitke appointed Dan Holtz, interim chief finance officer at Ridgewater College, to replace Myhre.
- Voted to renew the contract with the congressional lobbying firm of David Turch and Associates for 2011. The utility and the city each pay half of Turch's $54,000 contract. The council has voted to approve its $27,000 share and commissioners raised no objection to paying the utility's $27,000 share.
