ELGIN — The Boise Cascade Co. announced it could shutdown its plywood plant in Elgin in early 2021.

The wood products giant notified the 230 employees at the Elgin facility it may reduce their hours or close the plant temporarily beginning Jan. 1. Boise Cascade spokesperson Lisa Chapman said the potential reduction in hours and closure is due to a lack of logs because of wildfires as well as an order from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality regarding the use of wastewater at the Elgin facility.

“We were notified by the DEQ in April, and after lengthy discussions we filed a lawsuit in Union at the end of August,” Chapman said. “The DEQ said to limit our water use due to the presence of dioxins.”

The DEQ granted a permit in 2018 for use of water at the Elgin plant. Chapman said there is no evidence that use of the water, as the permit allows, has caused or contributed to an environmental or human health hazard. She said samples from the water contain low levels of dioxins, a group of toxic chemical compounds that are harmful to health.

Boise Cascade filed a petition for reconsideration with DEQ on May 4, arguing the agency was “attempting to modify the permit without following its required procedural process.” DEQ denied the request on multiple grounds, including the company’s amendments to the water use plan were not inconsistent with either the permit or Environmental Quality Commission rules.

The company responded on Aug. 31 in Union County with the lawsuit .

Boise Cascade in the court documents contended DEQ knew the water the Elgin mill would use contained dioxins as reported in a fact sheet provided to the Department of Environmental Quality.

The Elgin facility cannot operate without the use of a state-approved wastewater system. Because of the DEQ’s notice about dioxins and requirements for a new plan for water usage, Chapman said the mill in Elgin may need to close while Boise Cascade works through the litigation process and determines a solution.