Public nitrate water
meeting held in
Boardman
50¢
VOL. 141
NO. 37
8 Pages
It’s Over
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Around 65 people at-
tended a public meeting last
Thursday giving testimony
and demanding action on
nitrate contaminated water
in the north Morrow County
area. The meeting was held
in Boardman and hosted
by the environmental and
social justice communi-
ty organizing group Ore-
gon Rural Action from La
Grande.
Ever since the county
declared a water emergency
in June Oregon Rural Ac-
tion has been working with
County Commissioner Jim
Doherty and county staff
members of the health and
emergency management
departments testing wells
for nitrate levels, going
door-to-door and delivering
bottled water to affected
residents.
Doherty was one of
the main speakers at the
community meeting where
he informed the gathered
crowed of the efforts un-
derway to ensure residents
have safe drinking water.
According to Doherty he
and Ana Piñeyro of the
health department along
with Oregon Rural Action
volunteers have tested 485
home wells so far, with 200
showing nitrate levels high-
er than the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA)
safe drinking limit of 10
parts per million.
Doherty said in addi-
tion to distributing bottled
water, filters are also being
installed on home wells to
remove the nitrates. “The
state is working with the
county and we have some
filters and have been in-
stalling them,” Doherty told
the crowd. He says there is
also follow up being done
after installation, with tests
showing a high effective
rate. “Ninety percent of
them (filters) are getting
the nitrates down below 10
parts per million,” he said.
“They are doing what they
are supposed to be doing.”
Doherty said although the
state is becoming involved,
they are not moving as fast
as he would like to see.
“They are ready to step in
and they have $1,800 fil-
ters but we are in a holding
pattern right now while
the DOJ (Department of
Justice) is writing contracts
with local plumbers.” He
said the state is a couple
of weeks away from com-
ing in with water filters to
install on affected wells.
“They are willing to put
in whatever filters they
need to at whatever dollar
level they need to,” he told
the crowd. He said the
state is willing to spend
up to $4,500 per filter, but
people need to “keep the
pressure on the state and
keep asking for funds and
to help Oregon Rural Ac-
tion help you,” he urged.
Oregon Rural Ac-
tion (ORA) is a La-
Grande-based communi-
ty organizing nonprofit
founded in 2001 that ac-
cording, to its website,
“promotes social justice,
agricultural and econom-
ic sustainability, and the
stewardship of the re-
gion’s land, air, and wa-
ter. Through community
organizing, public con-
versations, and policy ad-
vocacy, ORA is building
a rural movement for the
well-being of all people
and our environment.”
Doherty said the group has
not received any county
funds.
As part of last Thurs-
day’s program several
people gave testimonials
on their experiences and
concerns living with high
nitrate water wells. For
example, Paulo Lopez
said he has lived 26 years
in Boardman with his wife
and two daughters, and he
also supports his mother
who he was most con-
cerned about. “She has a
water well and recently
we received news that her
water has high levels of ni-
trates. Her well was tested
and the result was a 40.1,
that’s four times what it
should,” he related. He
said his mother puts chlo-
rine in the soap to wash
dishes and when bathing,
as well as disinfecting the
tub. Lopez said a filter
would help his mother. “I
urgently ask you to con-
tinue providing resources
so that we have access to
emergency water, well
testing and treatment, until
we become a rural com-
munity with safe water,”
he said.
Continued page eight
A demolition contractor imploded the smokestack and boiler building at Port-
land General Electric’s shut down coal-fired power plant near Boardman last
Thursday
The 656-foot tall smoke
stack, and a 19-story
boiler building at the
Boardman coal plant
came crashing down last
week, as explosives fin-
ished off the most visi-
ble vestige of a 40-year
history of coal-powered
electric generation in
Morrow County.
The plant began oper-
ation in 1980 and, in
addition to providing
the largest steady flow
of electricity to Port-
land General Electric Members of the audience hold up signs demanding clean water at a community meeting
customers, also sup- last week in Boardman. Several people, including Paulo Lopez of Boardman inset, gave
ported over one hundred testimonials about living in the contaminated water area.
well-paying jobs to citi-
zens in the area.
Although the plant still
had many years of use-
ful life left, it was shut
The Heppner Ga-
down after passage
zette-Times wants to see
of strict new state air
CALL
pictures of your trophy
guidelines that cut the
animals from this hunting
amount of carbon emis-
season. Stop
sions a utility can emit.
by to have
ext 204
your picture
DEADLINE:
taken, drop
for more
MONDAYS
off photos,
information
mail them to
AT 5PM
PO Box 337
in Heppner, email them to
editor@rapidserve.net or
text cell phone photos to
541-980-6674.
541-989-8221