Jan. 18—PLAINVIEW, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fined a Plainview dairy $20,000 for spilling thousands of gallons of cream into the Plainview-Elgin Sanitary District wastewater treatment plant.

According to the MPCA, Plainview Milk Products Cooperative allowed about 6,900 gallons of cream spilled inside its facility to drain through its wastewater to the sewer system in April 2023.

The flow of cream was 15 times the facility’s daily maximum discharge limits of total suspended solids and triple its limit for discharged phosphorus.

The spill also overwhelmed the facility’s wastewater tank, which sent 100 gallons of cream-laden wastewater into Plainview’s storm sewer and into a ditch southeast of Plainview. According to the MPCA, Plainview Milk failed to immediately investigate and report these releases to the Minnesota Duty Officer or the MPCA as required in its permit.

In addition to paying the $20,000 penalty, Plainview Milk recovered the cream-laden water from the ditch and is evaluating and revising the facility’s automated alarm system and is submitting a report on how to prevent such a spill in the future.