DNR fines Mason City truck wash business for illegal wastewater discharges into Chelsea Creek

MASON CITY — A Mason City truck wash business has been fined by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for not properly disposing of wastewater.

The DNR says Brookstone Specialty Services at 1305 19th Southwest has been ordered to properly dispose of all wastewater and cease all illegal discharges to waters of the state. The DNR says on December 18th of 2020, they received a complaint alleging that water removed from a portion of Chelsea Creek smelled like petroleum and caused an angler’s minnows to die. As part of their investigation, the DNR observed dead suckers under the ice and brown sludge that was not frozen on top of the ice. Staff then observed a milky liquid flowing out of a tile outfall into the creek near a bridge on 19th Southwest as well as what appeared to be animal bedding deposited in the creek.

Later that month, the DNR observed that livestock bedding had collected on the sides of a catch basin, indicating a drainage line to a holding tank had become clogged and caused a backup into the catch basin, which led to the discharge to the overflow tile and then into the creek. Brookstone owner Tom Barragy said he was not aware there was an overflow tile and he would clean the livestock bedding off the tile outfall and permanently cap the line with concrete.

On March 15th, the DNR says they went back to the creek and the livestock bedding was there, and on March 25th, a Mason City city employee observed a discharge coming from the drainage tile. Barragy later that month started to clean up the livestock bedding out of the creek.

On June 21st, the DNR received a complaint of illegal dumping of a neon green liquid on the south side of the Brookstone property. The DNR drove to the truck wash building and observed a 265 gallon bulk container filled with a green liquid and labeled BrazeN. On June 22nd, the DNR returned to the site where they observed a tank on a car trailer discharging a yellow liquid into the same area.

As part of a consent agreement, Brookestone agrees to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000.