Winnebago-based ethanol producer Corn Plus will pay $310,000 civil penalty levied by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency over air quality violations.

The MPCA says the violations occurred between 2008 and 2010 and were discovered during on-site inspections. Violations included failure to report violations, which is required under its air quality permit.

In March 2011, staff from the MPCA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency interviewed the facility’s environmental manager and requested more monitoring records. The facility was issued a grand jury subpoena at that time by the EPA. After reviewing the records, EPA and MPCA staff identified more potentially false data from 2010.

Last month Corn Plus was charged by the EPA with a felony for falsifying information about its pollution-control equipment. These actions follow an $891,000 settlement with the MPCA in January 2010, and another criminal charge from the EPA in late 2009 for water-quality violations.

MPCA Commissioner Paul Aasen said the company’s unusual record of persistent violations of state and federal laws indicates a pattern of willful disregard for its environmental responsibilities.

“While the company operated outside the law for awhile, their choices and violations eventually caught up with them. I’m proud of our staff for their hard work and commitment in this case. In the end the state and federal regulatory systems worked the way they’re supposed to,” Aasen said.

“An untold part of cases like this is Corn Plus gained an unfair business advantage by ignoring its obligations as compared to other ethanol producers who played by the rules. $1.5 million in penalties and severe criminal charges send a clear message that Minnesotans will not tolerate this kind of performance from businesses who don’t meet the terms of their environmental permits,” he added.

Aasen noted the company’s current management has accepted responsibility for the company’s misdeeds, fired those responsible and pledged to operate responsibly moving forward.