An industrial success in Oregon

In the spring of 2004, members of the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, based in Portland, Oregon, were patrolling the Columbia River in kayaks when they witnessed murky, foul-smelling water that was pouring out of an outfall pipe directly adjacent to a large trash-hauling company.

The members took pictures of the discharge and decided to learn more about the problem by paying a visit to the state environmental agency to review the company’s file. The file demonstrated a long history of NPDES permit violations, primarily related to the discharge of pollutants in excess of permitted levels. The files also contained helpful historical background, including a letter from a consultant engaged by the company many years ago emphasizing the importance of installing a basic treatment system to capture and filter the heavily contaminated stormwater flowing off the site. Unfortunately, it was evident that neither the state nor the company was planning to remedy the pollution problem, so the members decided to take matters into their own hands.

Realizing the hurdles related to building a successful citizen suit, the members made a commitment to visit the area regularly. They also took the further step of chronicling those visits with trip reports and date-stamped digital photographs. Although there was some information in the files establishing the violations, the members decided to collect water quality samples at the company’s outfall and have those samples analyzed at a local lab.

After numerous sampling trips that spring, the members felt they had sufficient data to initiate a citizen suit by sending the company a 60-day notice. After extended negotiations, the company agreed to spend nearly a quarter of a million dollars to install basic pollution control technology to stop the pollution.

The company also agreed to fund a substantial native plant restoration project in the vicinity of the discharge and to establish an account at a water quality laboratory to provide free scientific analysis of water samples collected by local conservation organizations. Finally, the company agreed to donate funds to a local watershed group for the implementation of curriculum teaching local schoolchildren about the plants, wildlife and ecosystem values of the local waterway.

For more information, contact Mark Riskedahl with the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (msr@nedc.org).