NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
A7
Stricter rules State raises Port of Morrow fi ne
possible for
new wells
East Oregonian
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon water
regulators want to impose
stricter rules for drilling new
irrigation wells next year to
preserve groundwater levels
and prevent over-pumping.
A preliminary analysis of
available data suggests that lit-
tle groundwater across the state
is available for new alloca-
tions, said Ivan Gall, fi eld ser-
vices division administrator
at the state’s Water Resources
Department.
The goal is to create a pol-
icy that’s “simple and transpar-
ent” and also “protective” of
groundwater and senior water
rights holders, Gall said at the
June 16 meeting of the state’s
Water Resources Commission,
which oversees the department.
The agency plans to hold
public outreach workshops
about the proposal this sum-
mer, following by a “rules advi-
sory committee” to weigh in on
potential changes.
Under this timeline, the
commission could vote to
adopt the new regulations in
early 2023.
“It’s a very large undertak-
ing, when you look at the issues
before us,” said Doug Wood-
cock, OWRD’s deputy director
of water management.
The agency is on an “ambi-
tious schedule” to revise
the rules for permitting new
wells, he said. It plans to later
deal with other groundwater
reforms, such as the rules for
deepening existing wells.
“We’re really looking at the
groundwater allocation piece
and getting that under control,”
Woodcock said.
Depletion of groundwater
has been a growing concern for
several areas in Oregon, draw-
ing increased scrutiny to how
irrigation uses are regulated.
Traditionally, irrigators have
been permitted to tap into aqui-
fers as long as the wells didn’t
immediately interfere with
surface waters, according to
OWRD.
The agency is now contem-
plating an approach that would
deny permits for new wells
where groundwater is over-ap-
propriated or where data is
lacking.
Currently, new groundwater
uses may be approved even if
there’s insuffi cient information
about aquifer appropriation.
Under the new regulation,
wells would no longer be per-
mitted simply because an area
“cannot be determined to be
over-appropriated.”
During the June 16 meet-
ing, commission members
urged OWRD offi cials to cease
approving new wells in areas
where the impact to aquifers
is unknown — even before the
new regulations are fi nished.
“It’s concerning because the
existing rules would seem to
be the reason for the situation
we’re in,” said Woody Wolfe, a
farmer and commissioner.
That sentiment was echoed
by Meg Reeves, a retired attor-
ney and the commission’s chair.
“I would be in favor of
exploring what can be done in
the interim,” she said.
Waterwatch of Oregon,
an environmental nonprofi t,
believes that current laws and
regulations allow OWRD to
“default to no” when wells are
proposed in areas with limited
groundwater data.
“We don’t think there’s any
new process needed to do this,”
said Lisa Brown, the nonprof-
it’s attorney.
Brown said her organization
appreciates the OWRD’s reg-
ulatory direction but urged the
agency to act quickly.
BOARDMAN — Ore-
gon Department of Environ-
mental Quality has increased
the penalty against the Port
of Morrow from $1.3 mil-
lion to a little more than $2.1
million.
State environmental regu-
lators levied the initial fi nes
in January, accusing the port
of excessively spreading
nitrogen-rich wastewater as
fertilizer on area farmland
for years. DEQ announced
in a statement Friday, June
17, the additional $800,000
is “for additional violations
involving over application of
wastewater containing nitro-
gen to agricultural fi elds in
the Lower Umatilla Basin,
an area with longstanding
groundwater contamination.”
The Port of Morrow has
been appealing the $1.3 mil-
lion in fi nes. Port Executive
Director Lisa Mittelsdorf
was not available June 17 for
comment.
According to the statement
from DEQ, the Port of Mor-
row is one of many sources
contributing to nitrate con-
tamination in northern Mor-
row and Umatilla counties —
an area known as the Lower
Umatilla Basin Groundwater
Management Area.
The primary source of
contamination in the area,
about 70%, is from fertilizer
used on irrigated farmland,
according to the management
East Oregonian, File
Industrial facilities operate Jan. 11, 2022, at the Port of Mor-
row near Boardman. Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality announced Friday, June 17, it increased the penalty
against the port for nitrate pollution from $1.3 million to a lit-
tle more than $2.1 million.
area’s action plan. Additional
contributors are dairy and cat-
tle farms (about 20%), food
processing facilities, such as
the port that reuse wastewater
to irrigate fi elds (about 5%)
and residential septic systems
and other sources (about 5%).
The Port of Morrow col-
lects wastewater from food
processors, storage facilities
and data centers in its indus-
trial park outside Boardman.
The port has a DEQ water
quality permit that allows
it to use the nitrogen-rich
wastewater for irrigation on
nearby farms, but the permit
includes limits on how much
nitrogen the port can apply
to the farmland and how
much nitrate and moisture
can be present in soil prior to
applications.
“The amended notice cites
the port for additional occur-
rences of applying waste-
water containing nitrogen to
fi elds that already had too
much existing nitrate or mois-
ture in the soil,” according to
the statement. “Having too
much nitrate or moisture in
the soil when applying waste-
water increases the likelihood
of nitrates fl owing down into
the groundwater rather than
remaining in the soil for crops
to use.”
DEQ also reported the
port documented additional
violations to DEQ in its
annual report and in email
and phone reports of non-
compliance. The additional
violations occurred between
November 2020 to February
2021 and November 2021 to
February 2022.
The revised fi ne totals
$2,100,351.
DEQ in its amended notice
stated it “acknowledges that
the port is committed to fi nd-
ing a long-term solution to
the management of its waste-
water that both promotes ben-
efi cial reuse and is protec-
tive of public health and the
environment.”
Even so, according to the
notice, since DEQ issued
the notice, the Port of Mor-
row has not submitted a plan
to achieve compliance with
the nitrogen loading limits in
the permit. The new notice
requires the port to “develop
and implement an approval
plan to achieve compliance
with both the nitrogen load-
ing and moisture content lim-
its in the permit.”
Because the port already
has an appeal going with the
initial fi ne, the DEQ explained
it does not need to submit a
new appeal, although it can
submit an amended request
for a hearing.
The state environmental
department also encouraged
the port to collaborate with
local partners to complete a
“Supplemental Environmen-
tal Project” that addresses
high nitrate concentrations
in the drinking water in the
groundwater management
area. DEQ stated the port
could resolve as much as
80% of the penalty through
such a project.
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