West Fraser Forest Products fined $24,750 for exceeding air permit HAP limits
Summary
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fined West Fraser Forest Products $24,750 for exceeding total hazardous air pollutant (HAP) limits permitted for its Solway facility from January 2024 to January 2025. The company was also required to submit a permit application with a higher total HAP limit and develop a plan to maintain current permit limits until a new permit is issued. A prior $15,250 fine was issued in January 2026 for late performance tests and earlier HAP limit exceedances.
What changed
MPCA issued a $24,750 enforcement penalty against West Fraser Forest Products for exceeding hazardous air pollutant limits at its Solway facility during a 12-month period. The violation constitutes a repeat offense following a $15,250 fine issued earlier in 2026 for similar air permit violations and late performance test submissions.\n\nManufacturers operating under air permits must immediately review their emission monitoring and reporting practices to ensure HAP limits are not exceeded. Facilities should proactively engage with MPCA regarding any anticipated permit limit exceedances and submit required permit modification applications in a timely manner to avoid cumulative enforcement penalties.
What to do next
- Submit permit application with higher total HAP limit
- Submit plan to maintain current permit limit until new permit issued
Penalties
$24,750 fine for exceeding air permit HAP limits; additional $15,250 fine assessed in January 2026 for late performance tests and earlier violations
Archived snapshot
Apr 14, 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 13, 2026
Contact
MPCA communications, news.mpca@state.mn.us
Facility in Solway fined more than $24,000 for air permit violations
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) fined West Fraser Forest Products $24,750 for exceeding the total amount of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) allowed by the air permit for the company’s Solway facility from January 2024 to January 2025.
The company was fined $15,250 in January of 2026 for submitting carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide performance tests more than 100 days late and exceeding its hazardous air pollution limits from March 2023 to November 2023.
In addition to the fine, the MPCA is requiring the company submit a permit application with a higher limit for total HAPs. The company must also submit a plan to stay at the current permit limit until a new permit is issued.
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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