Port on Columbia River appeals $1.3M contamination fine
BOARDMAN, Ore. (AP) — The Port of Morrow along the Columbia River has filed an appeal over a nearly $1.3 million fine from state regulators for repeated wastewater violations that contaminated groundwater in the area.
Earlier this month, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined the industrial park outside of Boardman for overapplying wastewater containing nitrogen to agriculture fields and failing to monitor the resulting nitrate contamination.
Regulators say the port exceeded its nitrogen limits by approximately 165 tons in four years, further contaminating groundwater that is used for drinking water in an area that DEQ says is already burdened with pollution.
In the appeal, the port disputed its fine, claiming the violations were “unintentional” and were a result of things that were out of the port’s control, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
The port said it believed it had enough land available to absorb the excess nitrate but “an unexpected combination of less acreage available and unusually high winter precipitation” forced the port to exceed its nitrate limits.
High levels of nitrates in drinking water are linked with serious health concerns, particularly for babies and pregnant women.
The Port of Morrow is Oregon’s second-largest port, behind the Port of Portland. It is in the Umatilla Basin of northeast Oregon, where in 1990 the state declared a Groundwater Management Area because of high levels of groundwater nitrates.
Related News
From Archive
- TxDOT advances massive drainage tunnel beneath I-35 in Austin
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- U.S. water reuse boom to fuel $47 billion in infrastructure spending through 2035
- $2.3 billion approved to construct 236-mile Texas-to-Gulf gas pipeline
- Major water pipe break in Puerto Rico hits over 165,000 customers
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines
- Trump's tariffs drive $33 million cost increase for Cincinnati sewer project
- Utah city launches historic $70 million tunnel project using box jacking under active rail line
- Tulsa residents warned after sewer lines damaged by boring work
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized
Comments