Some Of Siding That Helped Sink Merlo Came From Company’s Chilco, Idaho, Mill

At least some of the home siding associated with lawsuits against Louisiana-Pacific came from a mill in Chilco, Idaho, about 15 miles north of here.

The slew of suits alleging that the Inner-Seal Oriented Strand Board siding is defective contributed to the ouster of several key L-P managers Monday.

The corporate upheaval resonated to L-P’s Northern Division headquarters at Hayden Lake, where Division Manager James Eisses agreed to step down.

Employees at the district office “hadn’t heard anything” Monday about what the management changes might mean locally, according to one receptionist at the Hayden Lake office.

Officals in Hayden Lake deferred questions about the management changes to the Portland office.

Louisiana-Pacific continues to be one of the major employers in North Idaho. The Chilco mill was involved in two of the controversies that have engulfed the company in recent months - the lawsuits over the siding and air quality violations.

The company has paid out nearly $50 million in claims about the defective siding, which is a less expensive form of plywood created when wood fibers are bonded with resin.

When dampened, some consumers say the product weakens and breeds fungi growth. Louisiana-Pacific maintains the product is trouble-free and that improper sprinkling or installation has led to the problems with Inner Seal OSB.

Major housing developments like Coeur d’Alene Place at Ramsey Road and Dalton Avenue list Louisiana Pacific siding as a standard feature on homes.

L-P’s Chilco mill made news in 1993 as part of a settlement between the company and the Environmental Protection Agency. The company paid $11 million in fines for clean air violations and invested millions in new equipment at mills around the West, including Chilco. However, Idaho operations were not citied in a recent Justice Department indictment of L-P.

In addition to its Chilco facility, Louisiana Pacific has mills in Post Falls, Sandpoint and Moyie Springs.

The Chilco plant and all of Louisiana-Pacific’s mills in the region have faced short-term layoffs as prices and demand for lumber and other wood products have declined.

, DataTimes