Waconia Wood Products Facility Fined $11,520 for Air Permit Violations
Summary
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fined Cabinetworks Group's Waconia Wood Products facility $11,520 for air permit violations. The facility failed to complete required particulate matter testing for nearly a year past the deadline and operated pollution control equipment capturing 99.6% efficiency instead of the permitted 99.9%. MPCA adjusted the facility's permit and mandated additional control measures.
What changed
MPCA issued an $11,520 enforcement fine against Cabinetworks Group's Waconia Wood Products facility for air permit violations. The facility failed to conduct required particulate matter testing until nearly a year after the deadline and was found operating pollution control equipment at 99.6% efficiency rather than the permitted 99.9% rate. MPCA also adjusted the facility's air permit, lowering the efficiency requirement to 97.8% and mandating installation of dual filtration and additional performance testing.
Wood products manufacturers and other industrial facilities holding air permits in Minnesota should ensure compliance with all testing deadlines and operating parameters. Facilities with pollution control equipment should verify that actual efficiency rates match permit specifications to avoid similar enforcement action. MPCA considers economic benefit gained from non-compliance when calculating penalties, making timely compliance critical.
What to do next
- Pay the $11,520 fine
- Install dual filters in series on pollution control equipment
- Complete follow-up performance testing as required by MPCA
Penalties
$11,520 fine
Archived snapshot
Apr 10, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
News release
April 9, 2026
Contact
MPCA communications, news.mpca@state.mn.us
Waconia facility fined more than $11,000 for permit violations
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) fined Cabinetworks Group’s Waconia facility, Wood Products, $11,520 for violations of its air permit.
In the air permit that the MPCA issued for the facility, Wood Products was required to perform a particulate matter test on April 24, 2024, but facility staff did not complete the test until April 16, 2025, nearly a year late. In a subsequent investigation, the MPCA also found that the facility was capturing 99.6% of particulate matter and not at the 99.9% rate stated in its permit.
In addition to issuing the fine, the MPCA adjusted the facility's permit, lowering the efficiency rate of the facility's pollution control equipment to 97.8%. Under state law, the MPCA may make such adjustments to reflect site-specific conditions. The MPCA will also require the facility to use two filters in a series, conduct follow-up performance testing, and ensure that it conducts future performance tests by their due dates.
The MPCA remains committed to protecting human health and the environment by enforcing rules and regulations and limiting pollution and discharges from facilities. When facilities do not fully comply with regulatory requirements, the resulting pollution can be harmful to people and the environment.
When calculating penalties, the MPCA considers how seriously the violations affected or could have affected the environment, and whether they were first-time or repeat violations. The agency also attempts to recover the economic benefit the company gained by failing to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner.
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