The Northern Iron and Machine Foundry on St. Paul’s East Side has temporarily reduced its workforce by 15% — some 17 workers — in response to air quality restrictions imposed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, according to an announcement Friday from the company.

Northern Iron notified the affected employees Friday that the change in their employment status will be effective immediately.

Located on Forest Street, the century-old foundry has been under pressure from the MPCA to better control emissions and upgrade its air quality controls through a formal permitting process.

The company was fined more than $41,000 last fall for making changes to air quality control equipment without an updated permit. In April, the MPCA issued an administrative order giving Northern Iron 30 days to bring operations into compliance with air quality standards. That deadline was May 17.

Modeled pollution data showed it was “highly likely the foundry exceeded the national air quality standards for lead and particulate matter,” reads a recent statement released by the MPCA. Calling air quality monitors installed by the MPCA near the foundry inconsistent in their readings, Northern Iron has maintained that “lead emission levels are well below the level considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.”

For particulate matter, “the data from the monitor does not have any correlation to the hours of operation of the facility and is inconsistent by day,” reads a statement issued by the company. “It does not appear to demonstrate that Northern Iron is out of compliance with particulate in the air.”

In late April, the company requested a stay to the administrative order, and the MPCA denied that stay on May 16, noting at the time that the facility could not demonstrate it had complied with the order.

Last week, Northern Iron filed a petition for review and an order for a temporary injunction against the MPCA in Ramsey County District Court.

The court this week ordered Northern Iron and the MPCA into mediation before a third party, which must be completed by May 31. Mediation is scheduled for next Thursday. The administrative order remains in place while legal action proceeds, according to the statement from the MPCA.

The company maintains it is being held liable for permitting issues dating back 15 years or more that occurred under previous ownership. The Lawton Standard companies of suburban Green Bay, Wis., acquired Northern Iron in 2022.

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