Opinion ID: 326929
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: discharge into the air

Text: 128 The district court enjoined Reserve's discharge of asbestos fibers into the air at Silver Bay, Minnesota, as a federal common law nuisance, as a public nuisance under state law, as a violation of certain Minnesota air pollution control regulations, APC 1, 5, 6, and 17, 380 F.Supp. 55-56, and as a violation of APC 3(a)(2) and its underlying statute, Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1) (Supp.1974), which require a permit for the operation of emission facilities, United States v. Reserve Mining Co., --- F.Supp. --- at --- - --- (D.Minn., Oct. 18, 1974). 52 129
130 We reject the federal common law of nuisance as a basis for relief. As formulated in Illinois v. City of Milwaukee, 406 U.S. 91, 92 S.Ct. 1385, 31 L.Ed.2d 712 (1972), and Texas v. Pankey, 441 F.2d 236 (10th Cir. 1971), federal nuisance law contemplates, at a minimum, interstate pollution of air or water. The United States, while invoking this doctrine, alleges only that Reserve's discharge significantly endangers the health of all those persons living in the vicinity of the defendant's taconite ore processing operations. The States of Michigan and Wisconsin do not complain of air pollution and Minnesota alleges that the discharge causes common law public nuisance but does not allege interstate effects. The pleadings indicate that Minnesota's claim rests on Reserve's violation of Minnesota laws by creating an alleged danger to the health of its citizens. We construe Minnesota's complaint as asserting a state nuisance law violation. 53 131 Additionally, in our review of the record, we find no evidence of any interstate health hazard, and no testimony from medical witnesses indicating any substantial concern over the health of any citizens exposed to Reserve's air discharge other then those residing in the Silver Bay, Minnesota, area. Although the district court opinion refers to a measurement of cummingtonite-grunerite fibers in snow samples from northern Wisconsin, 380 F.Supp. at 50, and the district court found evidence of these fibers in the air as far away as Wisconsin   , 54 380 F.Supp. at 50, the trial court limited to the Silver Bay area any showing of a significant burden of excess fibers. 380 F.Supp. at 48. 132
133 We turn now to Minnesota's claims that its laws are being violated by Reserve's air discharge. 55 In ordering, on April 20, 1974, an immediate cessation of air discharges containing amosite asbestos, the district court relied upon violations by Reserve of APC 5, 6, and 17 regulations published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency pursuant to Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.07 and the state's public nuisance law which is formulated at Minn.Stat.Ann. § 609.74(1). 380 F.Supp. at 17. Subsequently, Minnesota amended its complaint 56 under Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(b) to allege violations of APC 1 and 3, and Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1) relating to air emission permits. Because the district court held that Reserve's discharge also violates these provisions, 380 F.Supp. at 56 and Order of October 18, 1974, at 14, we also examine whether these alleged violations provide alternative or additional grounds for injunctive relief.1. APC 1. 134 The district court observed that studies of suspended particulate matter in the air over Silver Bay for the months of July through October 1972 disclosed only isolated instances of violation of the primary and secondary air quality standards of APC 1. 57 The court noted, however, that 135 the data introduced at trial,    reveals that since October 1972 there has been a marked increase in the number of days in which the secondary standard was exceeded and several days in which the primary standard was exceeded. (Order of Oct. 18, 1974, at 14-15.) 136 On the basis of this evidence, the court properly held that Reserve was in violation of APC 1. 137 2. APC 5. 138 APC 5 limits the emission of particulate matter from industrial processes. 58 Generally, it prohibits the operation of an existing emission source unless it has filtration equipment with a collection efficiency of 99 percent by weight. The district court found, and Reserve does not deny, that its present methods of filtration fail to comply with this standard. 139 3. APC 3 and Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1). 140 APC 3[a](bb) requires that a person operating an existing installation which is a source of air contaminants and air pollution shall apply for an operating permit. 59 Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1) makes unlawful the operation of an emission facility 60 without a permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The district court properly held that Reserve is in violation of both APC 3 and Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1) by its failure to obtain a permit for its emissions into the air of Silver Bay. 141 4. The Stipulation Agreement. 142 Reserve concedes that it does not have a permit as required by APC 3 and Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1), but contends in its brief that an existing stipulation (A.1:198-210.) with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, signed by Reserve in late 1972, is itself a permit authorizing Reserve's air discharges. That agreement expressly provides that Reserve shall be issued appropriate installation and operating permits by the Agency only upon compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards of the Agency   . (A.1:210.) The agreement does not relieve Reserve of the duty of obtaining the required permits. Reserve also relies upon the stipulation agreement as a defense to Minnesota's claims that it is in violation of APC 1 and 5, standards previously discussed. While the stipulation arguably shields Reserve from criminal liability or civil penalties for its violation of air emission regulations, it cannot shield Reserve from an abatement order based on the existence of a hazard to health from the air emission, for evidence of this hazard had not yet surfaced when Minnesota and Reserve entered into the stipulation. 143 5. Public Nuisance. 144 Because we affirm the district court's findings that Reserve, by its air emission, is violating APC 1, 3, and 5, and Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1), it follows that Reserve's violations may be enjoined as a public nuisance. Minnesota's pollution control law so provides: 145 Injunctions. Any violation of the provisions, regulations, standards, orders, stipulation agreements, variances, schedules of compliance, or permits specified in chapters 115 (water pollution control; sanitary districts) and 116 (Pollution Control Agency) shall constitute a public nuisance and may be enjoined as provided by law in an action, in the name of the state, brought by the attorney general. (Minn.Stat.Ann. § 115.071(4) (emphasis added).) 146 In light of this statute, we deem it unnecessary to discuss whether Reserve's air emissions could constitute a public nuisance independently of violations of the state's air pollution control regulations. 147 6. APC 17. 148 The district court found that Reserve's emission of amosite asbestos fibers into the ambient air violates the asbestos emission regulation, APC 17, of the Pollution Control Agency. 61 149 This regulation designates the use of specific control equipment for emissions within its coverage. The regulation calls for control equipment, referred to in the regulation as a fabric filter and by the parties as a baghouse filter, with a mass collection efficiency of 99.9 percent. See APC 17(e)(2)(bb)(i). 62 150 APC 17 defines asbestos as any of six naturally occurring, hydrated mineral silicates: Actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite, and tremolite. It defines manufacturing operation as the processing of asbestos or the production of any product containing asbestos. A product is deemed to contain asbestos if a detectable amount of asbestos is present in the product or in any material that goes into the product. 151 Minnesota contends that the district court's finding that Reserve's emissions into the air contain substantial quantities of amosite fibers and fibers similar to amosite, 380 F.Supp. at 89, supports the court's holding that Reserve is in violation of APC 17. Reserve takes the position that compliance with APC 17 is unnecessary for any health reason and necessitates economic waste because baghouse filters cost more to install and maintain than air filtration systems meeting other Minnesota emission control standards. 152 Reserve urges a restricted application of the phrase manufacturing operation as it appears in the regulation and argues that, because taconite is not considered asbestos in the ordinary usage of that term, Minnesota improperly interpreted APC 17 and has unreasonably applied it to Reserve's operation. Reserve further questions the reasonableness of the emission standard defined by the regulation. It argues that even if fabric filters do have a mass collection efficiency of 99.9 percent, the quantity of emissions will vary from plant to plant according to the amount of material processed and without respect to what level of emission is safe to health. We need deal only with Reserve's first objection, that it is not a manufacturing operation for purposes of the regulation. 153 Is Reserve engaged in the processing of asbestos or the production of any product containing asbestos? On the basis of the record in this case we cannot say that Reserve's taconite should be considered asbestos for the purposes of this regulation or that Reserve's product, iron ore pellets, contains asbestos within the meaning of APC 17(a)(12). The court below made no finding that the pellets contain asbestos. At the most, asbestos occurs as a contaminant in a component, cummingtonite-grunerite, of the taconite that Reserve processes to produce iron ore pellets. 154 The State of Minnesota adopted APC 17 following the adoption of a national asbestos emission standard, 40 C.F.R. §§ 61.20-.24 (1974), by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Federal Register published this standard on April 6, 1973, 38 Fed.Reg. 8820, and Minnesota adopted its standard on June 11, 1973. We assume that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency adopted this regulation, in common with APC 1, 3, 4, 11, 15 and 16, pursuant to the state implementation plan requirements of the Clean Air Act of 1955, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1857c-5 (Supp.1974). 155 In comments accompanying adoption of the national standard the administrator of the EPA identified five major sources of asbestos emissions: 1) mining and milling; 2) manufacturing; 3) fabrication; 4) demolition; and 5) spraying. 38 Fed.Reg. 8820. The administrator made explicit that the EPA regulation, insofar as it relates to mining and milling, applies only to asbestos mines and asbestos mills: 156 EPA considered the possibility of banning production, processing, and use of asbestos or banning all emissions of asbestos into the atmosphere, but rejected these approaches. The problem of measuring asbestos emissions would make the latter approach impossible to enforce. (Id.) 157 The administrator made no specific reference to other mining or milling. With respect to manufacturing, the EPA's standard applies to selected manufacturing operations. Id. 63 158 On May 3, 1974, the EPA clarified its asbestos emission standard by stating that it does not apply to asbestos occurring as a contaminant, as distinguished from asbestos as a product. This clarification expressly notes that the release of asbestos as a contaminant in the milling of taconite ore does not constitute milling or manufacturing for purposes of the federal standard. 39 Fed.Reg. 15397 (May 3, 1974). In this revision, the administrator added a definition of commercial asbestos to distinguish asbestos which is produced as a product from asbestos which occurs as a contaminant in other materials and to make explicit that materials that contain asbestos as a contaminant do not fall within the standard. The administrator further commented: 159 Asbestos is also a contaminant in taconite ore. EPA at this time believes that asbestos releases from the milling of such ores should be covered by the hazardous air pollutant regulations and intends in the near future to propose for comment regulations which would accomplish this. Because the revisions here being promulgated are only clarifications of the Agency's intentions at the time the initial hazardous air pollutant regulations for asbestos were published and because they are not being proposed for comment, EPA believes that it is not appropriate to include restrictions on releases of asbestos from taconite milling operations in these revisions. (39 Fed. Reg. 15397 (May 3, 1974) (emphasis added).) 160 The Administrator then observed that he had not included in the original regulation a definition of asbestos mill. He clarified the original regulation by defining the phrase and explained the definition in this way: 161 The definition excludes the milling of ores that contain asbestos minerals only as a contaminant as previously discussed under the definition of commercial asbestos. As noted earlier, the Agency intends to propose regulations covering taconite milling operations. (Id.) 162 Minnesota has offered no record of any hearing or other evidence of the purpose of APC 17. We cannot accede to Minnesota's argument that APC 17 should be applied more extensively than the federal regulation after which it is closely patterned in the absence of evidence of an independent background for its adoption. Although Minnesota may adopt more stringent air pollution control standards than the Clean Air Act requires, see 42 U.S.C. § 1857d-1, this record furnishes no implication that it has done so. As bearing on this issue, Dr. John Olin, Deputy Director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, testified only that I wrote that regulation (Tr. 18,233.) and that (w)e would feel that the Reserve operation would fall under (it). (Tr. 18,240.) On this record, we hold APC 17 as inapplicable to the discharge of asbestos fibers occurring as a contaminant in the processing of iron ore. 163 In summary, we affirm the district court's holding that Reserve is in violation of APC 1, 3, and 5, and Minn.Stat.Ann. § 116.081(1). As such, Reserve's continuing violations are subject to an abatement order. We disagree with the district court's application of APC 17 to Reserve. 64