The company has also dealt with a fire that caused $1.1 million in damage, back taxes to the county and overdue payments to suppliers. "Between the industry, the fire and the water, we're done," said Gilger. "This put us in a category where the bankers said you guys are way too much to risk."
Gilger said the Minnesota Department of Health tested the plant's water last summer and found 18.4 parts per billion of arsenic. Arsenic can occur naturally in Minnesota, most likely coming from shale left behind by glaciers from the last Ice Age. The amount of arsenic considered safe for drinking is 10 parts per billion.