Louisiana-Pacific has been fined $15,775 for stormwater and wetland violations according to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) enforcement investigation. Louisiana-Pacific operates a wood-board manufacturing facility in Two Harbors, Minnesota.
MPCA staff inspections in August and November 2023 found the following violations:
- Discharge of polluted water into a stormwater system that discharged into a stream that runs through the Louisiana-Pacific property.
- In July 2023, a berm on an earthen basin containing log-conditioning pond sludge collapsed, spilling its contents into a wetland, and the facility failed to notify the Minnesota Duty Officer of the discharge.
The stormwater discharges created nuisance conditions that discolored and reduced the water quality of the stream. The berm failure led to increased sludge in the wetland that was potentially harmful to aquatic life.
As corrective action, the facility was required to update its stormwater pollution prevention plan, implement additional stormwater treatment options, end its storage of the log-conditioning pond sludge within the earthen basin, mitigate the wetland impacts, and train staff on stormwater-related items at the facility.
MPCA rules and regulations are designed to protect human health and the environment by 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.