Cleaner Air Oregon is a health-based permitting program that regulates emissions of toxic air contaminants from facilities based on risk to nearby communities. CAO requires facilities to report toxic air contaminant emissions, assess potential health risks to people nearby and reduce toxic air contaminant risk if it exceeds legal limits.
As part of the Cleaner Air Oregon process, each facility has a dedicated web page to provide communities access to facility information and updates on where it is involved in the process.
- Each step of the CAO risk assessment process has a section that includes DEQ's communications and deliverables from the facility.
- The graphic below shows where a facility is in the Cleaner Air Oregon Process.
For additional information and history of the program, visit the Cleaner Air Oregon website.
CAO Risk Assessment Process
The Emissions Inventory provides information on all the Toxic Air Contaminant emissions from a facility, and includes information on a facility's operations and activities, as well as fuel and material usage rates. This is often the longest step in the CAO risk assessment process as DEQ needs to verify that all activities have been accounted for, and that the most representative emissions data available are used. In some cases, DEQ will require a facility to perform source testing at this stage if insufficient data is available to estimate emissions. For an introduction to emissions inventories and why they matter, please see EPA's Fact Sheet.
Oct. 30, 2024: Facility called in to Cleaner Air Oregon.
Jan. 13, 2025: Facility submits Emissions Inventory extension request.
Jan. 15, 2025: DEQ responds to Emission Inventory extension request.
Feb. 27, 2025: Facility submits an Emissions Inventory and supporting documentation (currently in DEQ review).
About the Facility
Boise Cascade Wood Products, L.L.C. operates a plywood manufacturing plant that produces plywood panels 4 feet wide and 8 feet in length. The plywood plant manufactures plywood using green and dry veneer imported from other operating locations. The green veneer is dried in steam heated dryers and laid up into panels using phenolic resins. The panels are cured in steam heated presses to form structural panels, which are trimmed, and prepared for shipment. Wood residuals generated at the plywood plant are collected, stored and either used as fuel for the boilers or sold to other mills. Three biomass boilers produce steam for the veneer dryers and steam plywood press. Exhaust from all three boilers is ducted through a common flue to a dry electrostatic precipitator (DBSP) and emitted through a stack. The facility has been in operation since 1956.