EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 29, 2022
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Doherty should look in mirror for source of nitrate problem
I've read the recent arti-
cles on the Port of Mor-
row being fined by DEQ
for over application of
nitrogen.
I've also read Morrow
County
Commission-
er Jim Doherty's spin
on blaming the high ni-
trates in the area solely
on the Port of Morrow.
Attached from one of
those articles is a pie
chart where the DEQ es-
timates that the nitrates
come from.
the 8.1% from pastures
with the CAFO of 12.9%
I get 22% attributed to
Jim Doherty's industry.
Onsite which is septic
tanks and drain fields is
3.9%. Jim has been tar-
geting an area in rural
Boardman that is known
to have high nitrate lev-
els for decades. This
is also an older devel-
opment that would not
meet today's standards.
It is one acre lots with
individual septic sys-
for OSU Extension en-
couraging people in the
area to check their wells
for nitrates, and passing
out literature at public
events like the Irrigon
Watermelon Festival and
Morrow County Fair.
ORS 448.271 which has
been around for decades
requires a test of the do-
mestic well in any real
estate transaction and the
results be given to the
buyer. This is not a new
problem Jim was quot-
ings with the Port of
Morrow, City of Board-
man and Morrow Coun-
ty. We met in the same
room and tried to work
on mutual problems
for the public good. We
didn't always agree on
the solutions, but were
always civil to each oth-
er. Not the screaming
and yelling and finger
pointing that Commis-
sioner Jim Doherty likes
to do. The emergency
meeting that was called
to declare the emergen-
cy barely met the pub-
lic notice requirements.
None of the regional
partners like the Cities
of Boardman and Irrigon
were notified. One can
only wonder if that was
done to exclude the pub-
lic from participating.
There was no reason for
the fear mongering that
has taken place. There
was no reason to cast a
shadow of doubt on city
water which is continu-
ally tested.
Jim Doherty needs to
be part of a solution and
not just a finger pointer.
If he wants to point the
finger at the problem, he
only needs to look in the
mirror.
John Wenholz
Irrigon
Happy Independence Day!
Have a Safe and Fun 4th of July Weekend
from all of us at the Heppner Gazette-Times
Estimation of Nitrogen
The Port of Morrow han-
dles the discharge water
from food processors in
Morrow County. This
is the only group that is
regulated by DEQ, and
they are only a small
portion of a bigger prob-
lem. jim Doherty is a
Cattleman and if I add
tems and shared wells.
What are the chanc-
es that they may have
failed septic systems that
are contributing to their
own problem? The high
nitrate issue has been
around for decades. I
can remember my friend
Carol Michaels decades
ago when she worked
ed as saying that before
he and Commissioner
Lindsay were elected
that the relationship
between the Port of Mor-
row and County govern-
ment was like the tail
wagging the dog. During
my 12- year tenure as a
county
commissioner
we had quarterly meet-