The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a multi-state agreement reached with Archer Daniels Midland Company will maker our air cleaner. The D-N-R’s Chuck Corell says the agreement will cover the emissions from 52 A-D-M plants in 16 states. He says the agreement allows A-D-M to make improvements to cut pollution at those plants, while the states agreed to not investigate the plants for possible pollution violations. He says that allows both sides to spend money on things to cut pollution instead of attorneys. Corell says the agreement will help cut 23-thousand tons of emissions at Iowa plants in Cedar Rapids, Clinton, and Des Moines. He says that’s a substantial amount of reduction, as he says the reduction of the volatile organic compounds emissions alone from those plants is equal to the top 11 v-o-c emitters in the state. Corell says other pollutants will be cut too. He says they’re going to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by five thousand tons and particulate matter or dust emissions by 300-thousand tons a year. He says the plan involves improvements at the electric plants for the Iowa facilities. He says the two corn processing plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton have their own coal-fired electric plants, which create the emissions. Corell says it will take some time to make the improvements. He says they’ll begin working on the improvements in the next few years, and says it will take 10 years to finish everything. Under the agreement A-D-M will pay civil penalties totaling four-point-six million dollars nationwide, perform a variety of supplemental environmental projects at a cost of six million dollars, and commit to a variety of air pollution control improvements at most of its facilities nationwide. The State of Iowa will receive penalties of 244-thousand dollars and Linn and Polk Counties, which have their own air pollution control programs, will each receive 61-thousand dollars.
