Water Gremlin Co., rattled in recent years by pollution scandals, has filed for chapter 11 protection and is in the process of trying to sell the company, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The White Bear Township, Minn.-based company, founded in 1949, makes lead battery terminals and fishing sinkers. Water Gremlin had significant clashes with regulators in 2019 over pollution from its facility. The company had to pay more than $7 million in fines to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) over toxic air emissions. The MPCA's commissioner at the time said the company "put people's health at risk." The MPCA levied another $325,000 fine in 2021 over alleged violations of hazardous waste and industrial storm water rules. The MPCA issued a new air emissions permit with "more stringent emissions limits and operating requirements" to the Water Gremlin facility in June. In July, Tokyo-based Okabe Co. Ltd., parent company of Water Gremlin, said that the litigation could lead to Water Gremlin "incurring substantial liability." An affidavit filed in the bankruptcy case cites possible liability from lawsuits related to the pollution cases and a decline in sales. The company's sales fell from $57.8 million in 2018 to $46.8 million in 2022, according to the court papers.
