Compass Minerals Subsidiary Receives Pollution Prevention Award from Kansas State Environmental Agency.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- North American Salt Company, a subsidiary of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP), has been awarded a 2006 Pollution Prevention Award from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for its voluntary participation in a program to protect the drinking water of the city of Lyons, Kansas. E[acute accent]In accepting the award, Larry Schulte, vice president of manufacturing for Compass Minerals, said: "This project is an example of Compass Minerals' proactive approach to environmental protection and our commitment to our communities. I am proud to accept this award on behalf of Compass Minerals and our partnership with the KDHE and the City of Lyons." E[acute accent]North American Salt won the Pollution Prevention Award for its participation in the Northern Containment Project, which uses recovery wells to intercept contaminated ground water and ultimately eliminate an underground chloride plume that threatens the city's drinking water supply. The plume is the result of contamination from an unrelated salt mining operation which was active from the late 1800s until its owners went out of business and abandoned it in 1948. E[acute accent]The Pollution Prevention Award honors projects that make a significant contribution to environmental protection. "Our program focuses on innovative programs that solve environmental problems before they occur, and North American Salt's voluntary participation in the Northern Containment Project is a perfect fit with our objectives," said Rick Bean, Chief of the Remedial Section of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. E[acute accent]John Sweet, city administrator for the City of Lyons, said: "This project simply could not have happened without the participation of North American Salt and its agreement to manage and maintain the recovery wells through the successful completion of this program, which is anticipated to take about 30 years. North American Salt's willingness to remedy a problem it had no responsibility for is a clear indication of North American Salt's strong commitment to our community, now and in the future." E[acute accent]The award was presented on August 23 at the 2006 Kansas Environmental Conference in Topeka, Kansas.

E[acute accent]About Compass Minerals

E[acute accent]Based in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Compass Minerals is the second-leading salt producer in North America and the largest in the United Kingdom. Compass Minerals' North American Salt subsidiary operates an evaporative salt production facility in Lyons, Kansas. Compass Minerals also operates nine other production and packaging facilities, including the largest rock salt mine in the world in Goderich, Ontario. The company's product lines include salt for highway deicing, consumer deicing, water conditioning, consumer and industrial food preparation, agriculture and industrial applications. In addition, Compass Minerals is North America's leading producer of sulfate of potash, which is used in the production of specialty fertilizers for high-value crops and turf, and magnesium chloride, which is a premium deicing and dust control agent.