A northeast Iowa cheesemaker has paid a $100,000 penalty and agreed to install $1.4 million in pollution-control measures after violating air quality limits for 12 years, according to the Iowa attorney general’s office. Prairie Farms Dairy in Luana admitted violating air-emission limits in a consent decree with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa attorney general’s office. The dairy had removed an air pollution device known as a baghouse in 2004; the DNR discovered in 2013 that the dairy had removed the baghouse without seeking a construction permit. In 2016, the dairy installed a dryer stack fan that reduced emissions, and it has remained in compliance with applicable emission limits since then. As part of the consent decree, Prairie Farms agreed to install a baghouse to further reduce particulate matter emissions significantly below their permitted limits. The plant formerly operated under the name Swiss Valley Farms before merging with Prairie Farms in April 2017.