WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
EASTERN OREGON
Lamb Weston Hermiston plant polluted groundwater
BY ALEX BAUMHARDT
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Lamb Weston’s French fry pro-
duction plant in Hermiston has
been discharging too much nitrate-
loaded water onto area farms,
according to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality.
The wastewater fl owing from
the plant has contaminated the
groundwater, causing nitrate lev-
els in some nearby wells to mea-
sure four to seven times the safe
limit set by the federal Environ-
mental Protection Agency, accord-
ing to DEQ.
The state agency on March 31
warned the company that it faced
enforcement action for contaminat-
ing the groundwater.
It was the second such notice
issued to the company in recent
months. In November, DEQ told
the company it had been discharg-
ing too much tainted water on area
farmland and faced enforcement
action for that as well. The agency
doesn’t disclose such notices on its
website or otherwise publicize the
fi ndings until an enforcement has
been made.
The notices ask the company
about what steps it intends to take
to cure the violations. For the most
recent notice, Lamb Weston has 45
DEQ seeks public
comments on Port of
Morrow water permit
BY ALEX BAUMHARDT
Oregon Capital Chronicle
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Environmental
Quality is asking the pub-
lic to weigh in on a revised
water permit for the Port of
Morrow after it violated its
existing permit more than
1,100 times.
From 2018 to 2021, the
state’s second largest port
dumped wastewater on
farmland containing 165
tons more nitrate than the
permit allowed.
In January, the DEQ
fi ned the port nearly $1.3
million for the violations.
The port is appealing.
Nitrate is a compound
in fertilizer used in farm-
ing. Many crops, includ-
ing potatoes and wheat,
are processed at the Port
of Morrow before being
shipped by river, rail and
road. That processing puts
remnants of fertilizer into
the wastewater.
The port’s water per-
mit requires treatment of
the wastewater before it
is sold to nearby farms
for irrigation. It is essen-
tially a wastewater recy-
cling program, but when
that water is too high in
nitrate from the fertilizer,
the excess moves into the
groundwater and can con-
taminate aquifers that local
well users and water util-
ities depend on. The port
produces about 3.6 bil-
lion gallons of wastewater
annually.
Nitrate is diffi cult and
expensive to remove from
wells, requiring fi lters that
cost thousands of dollars.
If water with high levels
of nitrate is consumed over
long periods, it can lead to
increased risk of colon and
stomach cancer, accord-
ing to the National Can-
cer Institute. Such pollu-
tion can also be harmful
to babies and pregnant
women, causing oxygen
deprivation that can lead
to miscarriages and met-
hemoglobinemia or “blue
baby syndrome,” accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority.
Comments regarding
the revised water permit
can be emailed to Patty
Isaak, DEQ’s water qual-
ity permit coordinator at
patty.isaak@deq.oregon.
gov. All comments are due
by 5 p.m. Friday, May 20.
After that round of com-
ments, the agency will pro-
pose an updated permit and
possibly allow comment
on that.
The port’s discharge
violations are the result of
accumulating more water
than it can store as it’s
expanded over the years.
The revised permit
would allow the port to add
about 1,600 acres to its dis-
charge program.
“The additional acreage
spreads out the wastewater
nutrients onto more crop
fi elds, reducing likelihood
of unused nitrate leaching
to groundwater if properly
managed,” the DEQ said in
its permit summary.
The revisions would
require the port to conduct
more soil and groundwater
quality monitoring, reduce
discharges in nongrowing
seasons and devise a plan
to clean existing ground-
water contamination.
The port is building
the fi rst of three anaerobic
digesters that will help treat
some of the water-borne
nitrate turning it to ammo-
nia, which is easier for
crops to take up and could
lead to less nitrate leaching
into the groundwater.
Morrow County is the
Lower Umatilla Basin,
which the DEQ has deemed
a Groundwater Manage-
ment Area since the early
1990s due to high levels of
nitrate in the water.
RECYCLE!
CARDBOARD • NEWSPAPER • GLASS • TIN • ALUMINUM
EIGHT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hermiston - 220 W. Harper Rd.
Stanfield - W. Wood (by Grange Hall)
Echo - 321 W. Main St. (next to Fire Hall)
Umatilla - Hwy 730
(next to Columbia Harvest Foods)
5. Umatilla County - Hwy 395 N.
(next to transfer station)
6. Umatilla County - 81144 N. Hwy 395
7. Irrigon - 198 W. Columbia Lane
8. Boardman - NW Columbia Ave
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECYCLING:
Newspaper - loose or placed in grocery sacks. (no plastic sacks)
Cardboard - flatten all boxes (sorry, no waxed cardboard)
Bottles & Jars - Give ‘em a rinse (labels are OK to leave on).
Separate them by color - clear, green or brown (sorry, no
Pyrex, china or window glass)
Aluminum - cans, TV trays, foil, etc. are acceptable. Please
flatten cans to save space.
Tin - Rinse cans. Remove both ends, flatten can. Lids also
accepted.
Sanitary Disposal, Inc.
Hermiston/McNary Hwy • Hermiston
541-567-8842
days. The agency then will con-
sider whether to require corrective
action or fi ne the company, accord-
ing to Laura Gleim, public aff airs
specialist at DEQ.
The Hermiston french fry plant
is Lamb Weston’s second largest
plant in the Columbia River Basin.
As of 2019, the plant had more than
500 employees who made nearly
750 million pounds of frozen
potato products annually, accord-
ing to Lamb Weston’s website.
Company offi cials could not
be immediately reached Monday,
April 18, for comment.
The violations were discovered
when the plant applied to renew its
water discharge permit from DEQ.
The permit allows the plant to recy-
cle water used to wash and process
potatoes, which come into the plant
covered in soil and fertilizers. The
facility distributes the wastewa-
ter to nearby farms as a source of
nutrient-rich water for irrigation.
But Lamb Weston overap-
plied the water on farms 75 times
between 2016 and 2020, accord-
ing to compliance reports that DEQ
reviewed. During that time, 189
tons of nitrate in excess of per-
mitted levels were applied in an
area already deemed a vulnerable
groundwater management area.
Such areas receive extra
resources and planning from DEQ
and designated committees in
the area to reduce groundwater
contamination.
DEQ said in its notices that
wells down slope from where
Lamb Weston’s nitrate-rich waste-
water was applied had levels of
nitrate between 36 and 79 parts per
million. EPA limits for safe drink-
ing water are no more than 10 parts
per million.
Nitrate is diffi cult and expen-
sive to remove from water, and
for those who rely on wells for
their drinking water, getting rid
of nitrate requires fi lters that cost
thousands of dollars.
Rodriguez selected as West Park principal
Hermiston Herald
West Park Elementary
will have a new principal,
according to the Hermiston
School District.
Eff ective July 1, Juan
Rodriguez will step into the
position. The Armand Lar-
ive Middle School assistant
principal, Rodriguez is the
replacement for the depart-
ing Kevin Headings.
Hermiston school
Headings is leav-
system and gradu-
ing West Park to take
ated from Hermis-
up a new job as the
ton High School in
superintendent of the
2005. He was hired
Pendleton
School
in 2010 as an HHS
District.
teacher and moved
Rodriguez
According to the
into administration
HSD announcement,
at ALMS in 2019.
which was made on the dis-
“Now two years through
trict’s website, the incoming a global pandemic, HSD
principal went through the continues to focus on the
future, our students,” Tricia
Mooney, Hermiston super-
intendent, said.
“Planning for next school
year, it is critical that the
building principals share
the same values and passion
for Hermiston students. Mr.
Rodriguez is familiar with
district systems and has
established
relationships
throughout the community.”
Hermiston hosts League of Cities conference
Hermiston Herald
For anyone wondering why Herm-
iston is experiencing an infl ux of new
guests, there is a reason. Offi cials from
around Oregon are converging on
Hermiston this week to see what they
can learn from this community and
from one another.
Held Thursday and Friday, April 21
and 22, the LOC conference is at the
Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Cen-
ter in Hermiston.
Registration is closed, but gov-
ernment officials may still register
at the event.
In a video promoting the League
of Oregon Cities’ Local Government
Spring Conference, Hermiston Mayor
David Drotzmann welcomes visiting
government leaders.
“I’ll see you there,” he said.
Registered attendees include 153
city leaders representing 77 communi-
ties from across the state, according to
the press release.
Participating city offi cials include
mayors, city councilors, city manag-
ers, city administrators, city recorders,
police chiefs and fi nance directors.
All of Hermiston’s city councilors
said they would be among the city offi -
cials who would attend the conference.
Byron Smith, Hermiston city man-
ager, and Mark Morgan, Hermiston
assistant city manager, will be among
the participants.
Tours will give attendees a look
at regional water projects and com-
munity sites made possible through
fundraising.
During the two-day event, 15
training workshops will be off ered.
Topics include infrastructure fund-
ing, recruitment and retention, hous-
ing and homelessness, cyber security;
diversity, equity and inclusion; and
property tax reform.
HIV isn’t
just a big city issue.
More than half of Oregonians with HIV
live outside of Portland, often in suburbs and
small towns like this one.
Good neighbors chip in to get the job done. And we’ve got
work to do on HIV prevention. People in rural Oregon are more
likely to get a late-stage diagnosis, and a lack of HIV treatment
may harm your health, or your partner’s. Detected early, HIV
is more easily managed and you can live a long, healthy life.
Getting tested is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Learn more and find free testing at endhivoregon.org