Minneapolis Star Tribune: "In its plea, Corn Plus admitted that its employees filed false reports in 2009 and 2010 indicating that its control equipment, known as bag houses, was working properly. Lovett said false monitoring logs also were created for the plant's scrubbers, which remove volatile organic compounds."...Heads rolled and Corn Plus also had to pay a large criminal fine.
Money quotes.
As one of Minnesota's oldest ethanol plants, built in 1993, Corn Plus has struggled with aging, less-efficient technology at a time when high corn prices have reduced ethanol refining margins, according to a recent regulatory filing by the cooperative.In September, the cooperative's new general manager, Mark Drake, wrote to its more than 700 shareholders that without $12 million in federal tax credits this year for using an alternate-fuel boiler, the board "would have had to consider ceasing operations." Corn Plus recently said it would invest $20 million to make the plant more efficient.
