Community Group Asks Ind. Gov't Watchdog To Look Into Water Gremlin, MPCA

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A community group has asked an independent government watchdog to look into a manufacturing plant with a history of pollution violations and the state agency that regulates it.

This comes on the heels of Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles agreeing to look at Water Gremlin and how the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency handled the pollution investigation at the request of a state senator.

The manufacturing plant that makes fishing sinkers and battery terminal posts paid a $7 million fine earlier this year as part of a state settlement.

It released unsafe levels of the cancer causing chemical TCE into the air for more than 15 years.

The community group wants Nobles to find out how the company could have missed excessive emissions for that long and what can be done differently moving forward.

Nobles has said he'll begin his investigation in the coming weeks and expects to reveal his findings before the end of the year.