MPCA fines Holiday for failure to repair faulty Rochester storage tank
Dec. 13—BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Holiday Stationstores and its parent company Circle K will pay a $200,000 fine and spend millions to upgrade equipment after the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found equipment violations in five locations including Rochester.
According to the MPCA, an investigation found that Bloomington, Minnesota-based Holiday-Circle K failed to properly test, report, and fix or replace corrosion protection equipment at five Minnesota locations between 2019 and 2022 in Rochester, Northfield, Owatonna, Pine City and Walker.
The equipment is designed to protect older underground storage tank systems from corroding and leaking gas into soil and groundwater. Operating permits granted by the state require companies to test the equipment annually. Failed tests must be reported to the MPCA within 30 days repairs or replacement of faulty equipment must be fixed within 60 days of failed tests.
MPCA enforcement officials say inspections in 2022 confirmed that each of the five locations documented between one to six failed tests that were not reported and that the malfunctioning equipment was not repaired. The report says the faulty storage tank systems at all five locations have since been repaired or replaced.
Along with the fine, the MPCA said Holiday-Circle K agreed to upgrade underground tank systems in Beaver Bay, Crosby, Duluth, Forest Lake and Ortonville by the end of 2024 at a cost of about $3.5 million. The agency selected those locations based on the age of their tank systems and proximity to bodies of water.
