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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
Local kids are “Paying It Forward” 50¢ VOL. 141 NO. 2 8 Pages Wednesday, January 12, 2022 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon DEQ fines Port of Morrow $1.3 million for groundwater contamination ‘These are serious violations of water quality regulations’ says agency The Oregon Depart- ment of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has fined the Port of Morrow $1.3 million for repeatedly overapplying wastewater containing ni- trogen to agricultural fields and failing to monitor those fields in the Lower Umatilla Basin, a news release from the DEQ said Tuesday. Groundwater is used as a primary drinking water source by residents in the basin, which spans north- ern Morrow and Umatilla counties. “High levels of nitrate in drinking water is linked with serious health concerns, particularly for infants and pregnant wom- en,” the release said. The Port of Morrow collects wastewater from food processors, storage facilities and data centers in its industrial park outside Boardman. The port has a DEQ water quality permit that allows it to use the nitrogen-rich wastewater beneficially for irrigation on nearby farms, but the permit includes limits on how much nitrogen can be applied to the farmland and how much nitrate can be present in soil prior to applications. According to the DEQ, the port violated these limits more than a thousand times, resulting in approximately 165 tons of excess nitro- gen being applied between 2018-2021. The port also failed to monitor nitrogen Wastewater generated by businesses at the Port of Morrow is used to irrigate farmland. at application sites on 121 separate occasions each year from 2018 to 2020. “These are serious vi- olations of water quality regulations that are in place to protect public health and the environment,” said Leah Feldon, DEQ depu- ty director. “The existing nitrate contamination in the basin’s groundwater means everyone in the re- gion has to do their part to reduce this contamination. The Port of Morrow has not been doing its part, and DEQ looks forward to working together to correct these violations and protect our aquifers from future contamination,” Feldon added. Nitrogen limits pre- vent overapplication and ensure nitrates don’t filter down through the soil into groundwater. Nitrogen is a beneficial plant nutrient but applying too much can contribute to groundwater contamination, said the agency. According to the DEQ, drinking water with high levels of nitrates can in- crease risk of methemo- globinemia, or blue baby syndrome, especially for infants who drink baby formula mixed with water containing nitrate above the safe level. The DEQ identified the Port of Morrow’s wastewa- ter as one of many sources contributing to nitrate con- tamination in the area’s groundwater. The primary source of contamination is fertilizer use on irrigat- ed farmland, followed by confined animal feeding operations such as dairies, pastures, food processing wastewater systems and septic systems. The DEQ said it is working with the Port of Morrow and other indus- trial facilities in the area to ensure appropriate and agronomic irrigation prac- tices during the non-grow- ing season when crop up- take of nitrate is minimal. There is increased risk of nitrate reaching groundwa- ter during the non-growing season. Reducing groundwater nitrate contamination from food processors is a goal of the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) Sec- ond Local Action Plan, which was finalized in Oc- tober 2020. The port and other local businesses and organizations contributed to the development of that action plan. A sign was left in the laundromat with quarters taped on, reading “The next one is on us. Let’s start the year good!” By Hannah Finch Children from Heppner have recently been paying it forward to the community anonymously. A sign with quarters taped on it was spotted in the laundromat, free for anyone to use. A similar sign was seen in the post office with stamps stapled to it. The children also chipped in $20 to pay for someone’s meal, all done without seeking rec- ognition. The children’s purpose was to show acts of kind- ness beyond the everyday things. They wanted to go out of their way to really help people in the commu- nity. The children hoped that when these small acts were noticed, people would follow their lead and pay it forward, creating a wave of kindness. The community caught on quickly. The post office reported that other people have been adding stamps to the sign. Though these good deeds may easily go unno- ticed, the rippling effect that they create have the power to change people’s lives for the better. The family insisted that it wasn’t really about these kids doing these ran- dom acts of kindness, but more about lifting people’s spirits up. “It’s about hav- ing everyone doing these seemingly small things and paying it forward.” County wants wind turbine lighting fixed Red lights should stop flashing with no planes around to cut down on the amount of visual pollution caused by the constantly flashing red lights, which is the type installed on all earlier built wind farms. NextEra agreed to put in the special on-demand system after county commissioner and pilot Don Russell insisted it be part of the compa- ny’s agreement to receive special tax breaks from the county. However, com- missioners are learning the system isn’t operating Another sign with free stamps stapled to it was found in the -See WIND TURBINES/ post office. “Need a stamp… Take a stamp. Happy new year!” PAGE THREE Constantly flashing red lights on top of the Wheatridge wind towers are an annoyance to neighbors, and should shut down. is needed for a plane to trip the system and cause the red lights to come on is to be within three nautical miles and 1,000 feet, but that is not happening, and the lights stay on all the time. “They are on more than they are off,” he em- phasized. Seitz knows firsthand the effects of the always on lights. “I am a neighbor to Wheatridge and from my house anywhere you walk around through any win- dows you look out you can see the lights,” he said. “In my bed at night looking out the window I can see them. The problem is the lights don’t shut off like they are supposed to. They are supposed to go out, which isn’t very often,” he said. Commissioners said they are also hearing complaints from other people about the bright lights being on all night. Commissioner Melissa Lindsay, who can also see the towers from her home, said, “The last couple of months there has been no off.” The special on demand lighting system, required by the county when Nex- tEra built the Wheatridge wind farm, was designed E L E VAT E YO U R A DV E N T U R E CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 NEW 2022 FOR By David Sykes The red flashing aircraft warning lights on top of the recently built wind towners in south Morrow County should shut automatically off when no airplanes are around; but they don’t, and the county wants that fixed, commissioners said at their meeting last week. Commercial pilot Wayne Seitz, who lives near the towers, was at the meet- ing and said the lights are on more than they are off. “Something is not working right,” he told the commis- sioners. Seitz said most aircraft flying over (the wind towers) are at 32 to 38 thousand feet and planes flying that high should not trip the system and turn on the warning lights. 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