BILLINGS Nearly 10 months after an incinerator malfunction during an FBI methamphetamine destruction sent 14 Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter employees to the hospital and forced the nonprofit to relocate, the City of Billings has agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty and address dozens of air quality violations identified by state regulators.A proposed consent order from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, obtained this week by MTN, concludes the city committed 35 violations of the Clean Air Act of Montana at its animal control incinerator dating back to June 2023, over two years before the Sept. 10, 2025, incident.Watch the story below to learn more: State fines Billings $5,000 over incinerator violations tied to 2025 animal shelter incidentAccording to the consent order, the city repeatedly failed to operate the incinerator in accordance with permit requirements over a two-year period.Among the violations, DEQ identified 17 instances in which the incinerator's secondary combustion chamber failed to reach or maintain the required operating temperature of 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. State records show some recorded temperatures dropped as low as 74 degrees.The document also details what investigators say happened during the Sept. 10 incident. According to DEQ, a pressure problem inside the building caused emissions from the incinerator to bypass the facility's pollution control equipment and accumulate inside the building while employees were working nearby. Related: Montana DEQ investigating burning of methamphetamine at Billings animal shelterIn the consent order, DEQ wrote that the city "had control of the violations, yet did not take reasonable precautions to prevent them."The state initially proposed a $10,000 penalty, but reduced it to $5,000 in exchange for the city agreeing to fix the problems and submit a compliance plan. The city is also required to retrain employees, obtain state approval before the incinerator can be restarted, and submit monthly operating reports to DEQ for six months once the incinerator returns to service.Interim City Administrator Kevin Iffland said the city responded to the proposed order June 18 after discussions with DEQ."We made a response back to them, basically indicating we weren't going to contest any of those issues," Iffland told MTN.He said the city accepted the penalty and agreed to bring the facility into compliance before using the incinerator again."We agreed to the $5,000 fine ... and basically agreed that we would come into compliance within the next three years if we wanted to use the incinerator again," Iffland said. Related: DEQ violations issued after toxic smoke incident at Billings shelterIffland acknowledged the city had documentation showing the temperature issues cited by regulators."It was some of those secondary chamber heating issues that we weren't reaching a certain temperature," he said. "Obviously there was documentation made of that, so we were aware of it."The city has not used the incinerator since the September incident. Under the terms of the settlement, it cannot restart the equipment until DEQ approves its compliance plan and authorizes the facility to resume operations.In the meantime, Iffland said the city is working on a memorandum of understanding with the Montana Highway Patrol to use the agency's incinerator near Laurel for animal remains and confiscated narcotics.Related: Department of Justice may allow Billings to use highway patrol incineratorUntil that agreement is finalized, confiscated drugs remain stored in the city's evidence facility."If we were ever going to use that incinerator again, we would make sure that we were in compliance with DEQ," Iffland said.He added that the city is reviewing its internal procedures following the findings."We want to be in compliance with DEQ when we're operating that," Iffland said. "Obviously we didn't like to see a report come back that says we weren't in compliance."The incident permanently altered operations for Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter. The nonprofit has spent the past six months operating from a temporary warehouse at 5056 Jellison Road, its third location since leaving the Monad Road building.Executive Director Triniti Halverson said the facility has reduced the number of animals the shelter can house, forcing staff to rethink how they provide services."We have really tight services right now," Halverson said. "This space seems more open, but the capacity for the number of animals that we can house in here is dramatically less than the previous shelter."Despite those limitations, Halverson said the shelter has improved several performance measures, including returning more lost pets to their owners and reducing the average time animals spend waiting for adoption by about two days. Still, she said many questions surrounding the Sept. 10 incident remain unanswered."It just gets to the point where no one's really able to talk openly about things until they're sorted out, Halverson said. "I don't have any clearer details today, nine months later, than I did on September 10th."Last September, Halverson told MTN that shelter staff had raised concerns for years about smoke occasionally entering the building during incinerator operations.She said the state's findings reinforce the decision to leave the facility."I think probably the word that you would put is validating," Halverson said. "To have some sort of scientific or governmental agency backing up that what happened wasn't OK and it wasn't supposed to happen, helps me, at least, feel like I'm continuing to make the right decisions to keep my shelter and my animals safe."While the city works through the settlement requirements and determines the future of the incinerator, Halverson said her organization's mission remains unchanged."It's hard," she said, "but you also just kind of have to keep moving forward for the animals."Related coverage:Billings shifts animal shelter services to Animal Control starting July 1Seized Shepherd dogs housed at former YVAS building, whose future is uncertain ...read more read less