Street Roots • October 20-26, 2017
Page 5
News
This photo shows the close proximity o f the city’s Rivergate Pum p Station (at left), located at the corner o f North Rivergate Boulevard and Time Oil Road, and the Smith and Bybee Wetlands
Natural Area. Note the “Wildlife Habitat Area” sign posted on the gate to the right. A t nearly 2,000 acres, the natural area is the largest protected freshwater wetland within an American city.
HONEY BUCKET, from page 4
treatment system like that without prior
approval,” Parnell said.
If the hole had been cut in the screen to
begin with, the permit would never have
been approved, he said.
The alterations were made between the
time city inspectors approved the permit
and the time Honey Bucket began
discharging wastewater.
Representatives from Northwest Cascade
argued that the hole was cut to allow large
“turds” to pass through the screen and that
any other material would have removed by
employees. At some facilities, the company
uses a Muffin Monster industrial sewage
grinder to chop up large solids before they
enter the sewer, but it doesn’t have this
machinery at its North Portland location.
Industrial sewage grinders that chop up
large non-fecal debris for discharge - which
are commonly used by municipalities and
porta-potty companies - cost about
$100,000, according to a quote Street Roots
requested from a manufacturer.
But Northwest Cascade might not be
saving much in the way of costs. The city
has fined the company $90,000 for
violations, plus $3,592 for the cost of the
pump fixes and inspections that required
more than 80 labor hours.
The company has appealed the fine, first
going through an administrative hearing in
September, where the company’s attorney,
Steve Parkinson, pointed to the city’s
premature theory that illegal dumping could
be the cause of the clogs.
“We do know that there’s, you know,
homeless encampments immediately down
the street from us, between us and the
Rivergate pump station,” he said, according
to a transcript of the meeting. “I know that
one of the theories put forward by the
investigators that’s in the record is it was,
you know, homeless folks or other people
dumping stuff down manholes.”
Later during the hearing, Parkinson
admitted, “I think it’s fair to say that what a
homeless person could dump down a
manhole - just to be, you know, fair - they
could find a Honey Bucket and open the
Honey Bucket, and dump it there.”
The bureau upheld the fines, and
Northwest Cascade is continuing to fight
them. A Nov. 2 appeal is scheduled before a
hearings officer in the city auditor’s office.
According to the appeal documents,
Northwest Cascade is still clinging to the
city’s early theory that the cause of the
blockages was illegal dumping.
“The City mischaracterizes Northwest
Cascade’s position that all of the debris was
deposited by homeless people between
April 5 and April 14th (the dates of the
pump jams). While such material could have
been dumped down manholes at this time -
as acknowledged by the City - this material
could have been dormant in manholes and
was mobilized by the increased discharge
volume starting on April 5, 2017,” argues
the appeal.
One problem with this argument, city
officials said, is that while the increased
flow could have dislodged built-up debris
when it began, it doesn’t explain the eight
subsequent clogs.
Additionally, for people to dump directly
into the sewer between Honey Bucket and
the pump station, they would need a large
hook to remove one of the 50-pound circular
steel manhole covers first, Parnell said. All
manhole covers were in place when
inspected, and there were no signs any had
been removed.
Northwest Cascade is also arguing that
the workers at its Honey Bucket facility “will
testify that they never pushed any large
debris through the slit.”
“When (Honey Bucket) finally fixed their
screen and fixed their septic tank and they
discharged, it stopped. We no longer had
any issues,” Parnell said. “And to me, that’s
the definitive proof right there.”
Should the city auditor’s hearings officer
side with the Bureau of Environmental
Services, Northwest Cascade could file an
appeal in circuit court.
“They’re just trying to grasp at straws,”
said Matt Criblez, an environmental
compliance officer with the city. “It’s a very
large penalty.”
Citing the ongoing appeal process,
Northwest Cascade declined to comment for
this story.
emily@streetroots. org
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Wildlife Habitat Area
W ?N o Trespassing
No Dumping
Absolutely No Dogs Aiiowed
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kill
w ild life o n this site
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Sm ith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area