Sanimax equipment updates
spur air quality concerns

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will hold a public meeting on March 13 to inform South St. Paul residents about the changes taking place

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | March 2025

Sanimax has long attracted ire from residents due to foul odors emitted from its facility at 505 Harman Ave., and this spring the problem may get better or worse. It all depends on how well the company’s new scrubber – equipment that helps reduce odors – can handle the output of a new cooker capable of emitting a higher amount of pollution. The cooker was installed last fall and has been operating at a limited capacity while Sanimax works to get a new air permit allowing it to increase output.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will hold a public meeting on March 13 to inform South St. Paul residents about the changes taking place and how they will affect the city’s air quality. It is held 6-7:30 p.m., at City Hall and via Zoom, and will be followed by a 30-day public comment period.

The MPCA held its first public meeting about the project in late January. One attendee inquired if they should wear a mask or stay inside when odors are particularly bad. MPCA staff said they could not definitively answer that question without doing further air testing. They did say they are working to identify locations for additional air monitoring stations.

In December, the agency required Sanimax to submit a detailed odor reduction plan, but that plan is not available to the public without requesting it from the MPCA and paying a fee. Sanimax, which provides services in animal byproduct rendering, recycling and waste management, is also now prohibited from using refined animal fat or vegetable oil as fuel because it’s worse for air quality than alternatives.

Sanimax was required to hold a public meeting last fall to inform residents about the changes taking place, and another is required to be held within 90 days of the replacement cooker being fully operational, and the
launch of its odor abatement plan. At the meeting, Sanimax will show results of how both are working.
Requiring Sanimax to hold public meetings and take extra precautions to reduce odors isn’t unprecedented. In spring 2023, an MPCA inspection discovered Sanimax dismantled required pollution control equipment and rerouted emissions while failing to conduct air quality tests before making those changes. The company also failed to consistently perform daily emission checks and report excessive deviations in pressure drop and water flow rates for its pollution control equipment. The MPCA fined Sanimax $55,000 and required the company to reactivate its pollution control equipment, submit compliance plans and conduct daily monitoring.

This year, the MPCA is drafting new rules that will require facilities emitting an objectionable odor – as deemed by the MPCA commissioner – to develop and submit an odor management plan. It will be required of
facilities in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties. Currently, state standards address hydrogen sulfide emissions, a common cause of odors complaints, but do not apply to many other odorous pollutants that have not been found dangerous to humans.

A group of South St. Paul residents settled a class-action lawsuit with Sanimax in 2018 requiring the company to pay $750,000 into a fund for residents affected by the odor and spend $450,000 to reduce odors. More than 1,500 residents submitted claim forms. Since then, the City of South St. Paul has enacted several ordinances addressing odor from the plant, including a 2019 zoning modification and a 2020 measure allowing the city to issue citations to businesses emitting ongoing nuisance odors.

“Sanimax is committed to investing in our South St. Paul facility to support the agriculture industry while being a responsible neighbor to the community,” said Sanimax spokesman Jordan Unser. “The new cooking system and odor scrubber are part of our ongoing strategy of significant investments in odor abatement and emission control equipment. These upgrades enhance our ability to meet and exceed regulatory requirements under the Clean Air Act and National Ambient Air Quality Standards while further improving air quality.”

Sign up for updates about the new odor management rules at mnpca.info/odor.

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