ST. PAUL – State Rep. Shane Mekeland, R-Clear Lake, has issued the following statement pertaining to a settlement agreement Northern Metals and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reached Monday after questions arose regarding Northern Metals’ pollution control equipment readings at the company’s north Minneapolis location. Northern Metals is in the process of moving its operation from north Minneapolis to a new facility it is constructing in Becker. In the settlement agreement, Northern Metals indicated it will today shutter its north Minneapolis operation indefinitely as its relocation to Becker takes place, and also pay a $200,000 fine.
“This agreement finally puts to rest the challenges Northern Metals faced at its Minneapolis site,” Mekeland said. “The company’s new, state-of-the-art facility in Becker will set a new global standard for recycling when it soon opens. While operations of this kind typically cost around $20 million to construct, Northern Metals has invested nearly triple that amount to create a one-of-a-kind recycling facility in Becker. We have received every assurance the new technologies and redundant measures being put into practice at the new facility will protect our water, our air quality and the environment in general, allowing Northern Metals to be a successful company and valuable asset to our area.”
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