Water Gremlin president says company committed to environmental stewardship

Schulz was invited to speak to White Bear Rotary earlier this month about the company and its future. He said he wanted the presentation to be “forthcoming and transparent.” Schulz talked about the $15 million Water Gremlin has spent on capital improvements to mitigate pollution violations, incremental to penalties, and how its Japanese parent company has committed to being a good corporate citizen. 

So, what went wrong? His list of issues included Water Gremlin’s indirect method of reporting emissions and its reliance on maintaining operating parameters to measure system effectiveness. When a new environmental health and safety leader was hired July 2018, problems were identified and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was notified.

A major change following the admission and resulting fines was discontinued use of the carcinogen TCE, a solvent used in Water Gremlin’s battery terminal coating process. The coating is a protective layer added to the terminals’ acid rings to reduce the chance that acid vapors will escape. 

The company switched to a less toxic alternative called tDCE. “There is confusion about tDCE and how we found it,” Schulz said. “We engaged a University of Minnesota extension program called MnTAP to help us find alternatives. They found it through the Massachusetts Toxic Use Reduction Institute, which considered tDCE the best recommended alternative.” 

The coating product is not a carcinogen, Schulz emphasized. “It is not listed by the EPA or American Cancer Society and it’s not on California’s all-inclusive Prop 65 list.”

Still, Water Gremlin is testing other technology to use in the coating process, including UV light. “We are working with MPCA to understand this technology in a new (air emissions) permit,” explained Schulz, which they expect will be issued in July. “It will allow us to further reduce emissions and eliminate use of volatile organic compounds in our coating process.” 

He added that the first coater is now running using UV curing following an unprecedented approval process by MPCA that Schulz attributed to “local pressure” that required a public comment period. 

Particulate matter (PM) that comes from overspray in the coating process will be the focus of the new permit, according to Schulz. “While the goal is to eliminate VOCs, it was suggested that the process created too much particulates, particularly the very fine PM2.5, which is 20-plus times smaller than a human hair,” he said. “Water Gremlin has committed to HEPA filtration that will remove 99.5% of PM.” 

Founded in 1949, Water Gremlin is known for the Rubbercor fishing sinker. Today, the fishing market is a fraction of its business. In the ’70s, the company became a major manufacturer of lead terminals for acid batteries for the North and South American market. A diverse workforce numbers about 270. 

According to Schulz, only four manufacturers control 95% of the automotive battery market. 

The new air emissions permit from MPCA will allow Water Gremlin to operate for the next five years. 

“As part of that agreement, we offered to commit a greater investment in controls to reduce our emissions and environmental impact well below anything out there,” Schulz said.

Future changes also include more fencing and trees to create a natural barrier at its 160,000-square-foot north campus on Otter Lake Road. 

The company president told Rotarians that Water Gremlin is proposing to do more than required. 

“We want to make a greater investment proactively in preventing emissions. To me, that makes more sense than investing in expensive monitoring equipment,” Schulz said. “That is not helping the environment. The community can be assured Water Gremlin will be an environmentally sustainable facility now and in the future.”