Shearer’s Foods Perham, a manufacturing facility in Otter Tail County, paid $37,750 for air permit violations. A Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) investigation found that Shearer’s Foods operated without an air permit beginning in 2015 when it bought the plant from another company and submitted incomplete applications during the permit process.
The MPCA issued an air permit to Shearer’s in December 2025. The air permit requires monitors to measure particulate matter. High levels of particulates are known to cause environmental harm and health problems.
The company took the following corrective actions:
- installed two air monitors to measure two types of particulate matter
- operated the air monitors according to the MPCA’s air monitoring plan
The MPCA remains committed to protecting human health and the environment by enforcing rules and regulations and limiting pollution emissions and discharges from facilities. When companies 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.