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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2022)
New Maple trees being planted 50¢ VOL. 141 NO. 5 8 Pages Wednesday, February 2, 2022 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Port appeals DEQ groundwater contamination fine Says nitrate violations were unintentional and had minor effect on health or environment The Port of Morrow industrial park at Boardman. sufficient land application acreage available to com- ply with the nitrate loading limits... of the permit. An unexpected combination of less available acreage and unusually high winter pre- cipitation, however, forced the port to apply wastewater to sites that exceeded the nitrate levels specified,” even though it tried to avoid the overapplication, it ex- plained. The port added that “it has made and contin- ues to make extraordinary efforts to avoid applying wastewater in the winter to sites that exceed 30 pounds of nitrate per acre.” The smaller fine of $63,951 was for “failing to monitor nitrogen uptake in crops at each of its land applications sites.” The port said although this was true, it should not be fined since it was not a violation of its permit. Although the permit requires it to monitor and record plant tissue nitrogen removal (a method to gauge nitrogen levels in the soil) “there are no standard methods for monitoring plant tissue nitrogen removal,” and that the DEQ provided “no useful guidance on the appropriate method” even though the Port asked for that guidance. The Port said the DEQ did not provide an approved method of testing until 2021. “The Port was uncertain regarding both what information should be collected and how it should be collected. There are no standard methods, no method is specified in the permit and DEQ had not provided any useful guidance to the Port on an appropriate method,” the appeal document states. To handle its DEQ ap- peal the Port has hired At- torney Michael Campbell of Portland law firm Stoel Rives, LLP. According to its website, Stoel Rives has 10 offic- es located in seven states and Wash- ington D.C. W i t h i t s Attorney headquarters Michael in Portland, Campbell it is the larg- est law firm in Oregon having 391 attorneys and a total of 721 staff. “Stoel Rives is considered a leader in the Pacific Northwest in corporate, energy, environ- mental, intellectual proper- ty, labor and employment, land use and construction, litigation, natural resources and renewable energy law,” the website stated. Attorney Campbell has “more than 30 years of experience help- ing hydropower, industrial and municipal clients ob- tain water quality approvals and find solutions to regu- latory problems related to water quality,” the site said. Now that the appeal process is in place the next step will be a meeting be- tween the Port and DEQ officials to discuss a settle- ment. “We don’t have much to share right now beyond just that we’ve received an appeal from the port. The next step will be for DEQ and the port to schedule an informal meeting to discuss the information the port has provided as part of the ap- peal letter, and see if we can reach settlement terms,” Public Affairs Specialist with the DEQ Eastern Re- gion Laura Gleim told the Gazette-Times. “This is very standard procedure for our enforce- ment process”, Gleim said. “If we can’t reach settle- ment, the DEQ will refer the case to the state’s Office of Administrative Hear- ings and request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Most cases do not reach this stage, but it would be the next step if we couldn’t reach a settle- ment,” she explained about the possible future course of the appeal. By April Hilton-Sykes Dr. Josh Sirucek has joined the Morrow County Health District staff and is now practicing in Heppner. Dr. Sirucek, who attended Monday’s MCHD meeting, and his wife, Bonnie, have four children and indicated that they have plans to live in Heppner. A “meet and greet” session with Dr. Sirucek has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Pioneer Memorial Clinic Confer- ence Room. Dr. Ed Berretta, who lived and practiced in Hep- pner years ago, along with his wife, Dr. Jean Berretta, remains as chief of staff for the district. He presented a positive commentary to the board via letter, quoting Charles Dickens, “These are the Best of Times, These are the Worst of Times,” ending with “It will Truly be The Best of Times.” Emily Roberts, MCHD C EO, an n o u n ced th at “Donna Sherman has as- sumed responsibility for EMS (Emergency Medical Services) on a permanent basis and is now the direc- tor of Laboratory and EMS Services.” Roberts said that Sherman “started with the district’s EMS program 13 years ago and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.” Patti Allstott, human resources director for the district, announced that the district has hired 16 new employees since the November board meeting, including: a part-time phy- sician for Hospice director- ship, a part-time Hospice family nurse practitioner, a Pioneer Memorial Clinic certified medical assistant, a community relations and communications director, a fill-in radiology technician, a floating clinic medical assistant for three clin- ics (Heppner, Boardman and Irrigon), a full-time paramedic and ED techni- cian, four temporary status hospital RNS, a hospital screener, a chief operating officer, a full-time lab tech- nician, a Home Health and Hospice clerk, adding, “Dr. Sirucek is Here!” One of the freshly planted trees standing tall in Memorial Park. Otherwise, transporting and planting could harm the tree, so it may be another season before all of the trees are planted. When asked why the old trees were being re- placed, Kraig Cutsforth, the city manager, said that the old trees had reached ma- turity and were beginning to cause problems. Trees were falling over, damaging property and damaging the cement in the sidewalk. Many of the old trees were Bradford Pear trees, a spe- cies that is responsible for a foul smell and for the fruit that sits on the sidewalk. Cutsforth says that these new trees shouldn’t smell bad and won’t be bearing fruit. Along Main Street, you can find Crim- son Maples, a type of tree that in time, will grow to about 25 feet tall. They are much skinnier trees that will be much easier to trim and maintain, Cutsforth says. The trees in Memori- al Park, the Pacific Sunset Maples, are supposed to grow to 50 feet tall and live for 150 years. All of the new Dr. Josh Sirucek trees will be very colorful in the fall and bring out the The board approved a beauty of the season. services agreement between MCHD and Nurse Practi- DEADLINE: tioner Vicki Kent, ARNP, MONDAYS who will be working two AT 5PM 10-hour days. Allstott also reported the district has scheduled By Hannah Finch If you’ve taken a walk down Main Street recent- ly, you may have noticed something missing, or rath- er, something new. Heppner has been working on an ongoing project to replant many of the trees that you’ll find around town. Seven to eight trees were planted last year, and by the end of the proj- ect, there will be 25 new trees in place. The trees, coming from a nursery just south of Portland, can only be planted in winter while they are dormant. New doctor joins MCHD staff -See NEW DOCTOR/PAGE TWO 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 Port of Morrow is appealing a recent $1.3 mil- lion fine from the Oregon Department of Environ- mental Quality for violating its permit by over-applying nitrogen to farm ground. The Port collects waste- water from food processors, storage facilities and data centers in its industrial park outside Boardman. It has a permit that allows use of 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 lim- its more than a thousand times in a three-year period, resulting in approximately 165 tons of excess nitrogen being applied. The DEQ also said the port failed to monitor nitrogen at appli- cation sites on 121 separate occasions. The allegations are se- rious since the permits are meant to stop overappli- cation and ensure nitrates don’t filter down through the soil into groundwater used for drinking. Nitrogen is a beneficial plant nutrient but too much in drinking water can contribute to health problems in humans. The application area also has a long history of high groundwater nitrate levels. In response to the charges and large fine, the Port did not dispute that it over-applied nitrates, only that its actions were “unintentional and beyond the reasonable control of the Port.” It added that the penalty was excessive since the violations had no more than a minor adverse effect or threat on human health and the environment. The DEQ’s penalty on the Port was broken down into two fines. The larger penalty of $1,227,600 was for applying “wastewater containing nitrogen during the winter irrigation season to fields where soil nitrate in the four feet to five feet soil level was equal to or greater than 30 lbs.” thus exceeding its permit levels. In its ap- peal document the port said overapplication was caused by less available acreage and high winter precipi- tation which “forced” it to over-apply the nitrates. “When the permit was issued, the port believed that it had or would have Hard at work replacing the old trees with the new saplings. -Photos by Hannah Finch. for more information CHECK OUT THE ALL-NEW 2 0 2 2 P O L A R I S L I N E U P. WE’LL HELP YOU LOCK I N W H AT Y O U W A N T. WARNING: Polaris ® off‑road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not intended for on‑road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license to operate. Passengers, if permitted, must be at least 12 years old. 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