Eugene Weekly

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) sent a “pre-enforcement notice” to Vernon Egge of Coburg Road Quarry, LLC on April 1 concerning illegal discharges of wastes to the McKenzie River where it flows under I-5 (near Armitage Park). DEQ received a complaint of “discolored and turbid water runoff” entering the river at this location on March 14 and verified the discharges via a site visit the same day. DEQ “strongly suggests” that Coburg Road Quarry submit a permit application for future discharges by May 13. Continue reading →

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assessed a civil penalty of $6,600 against Maryland-based W.R. Grace & Co. – Conn. on April 6 for illegally transporting thousands of pounds of hazardous waste from a Portland warehouse to a Grace manufacturing facility in Albany in May of last year. Continue reading →

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assessed a civil penalty of $6,400 against BJB Milling & Lumber, LLC on March 22 for BJB’s failure to follow through on a commitment to construct a bioswale to address elevated levels of total suspended solids (TSS) in stormwater discharged from its Eugene facility. BJB identified an alternative means of addressing TSS levels toward the end of last year. BJB’s Eugene facility is located at 101 Iowa Street, and BJB is owned by Jolly Investments, LLC (which is operated by Springfield accountant James Youel). Continue reading →

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a civil penalty of $6,451 to Rexius Forest By-Products, Inc. on Feb. 17 for Clean Water Act violations at its Bailey Hill Road facility. Specifically, DEQ penalized Rexius for negligently failing to monitor for arsenic in its stormwater discharges. Rexius can appeal the penalty, pay it or offset it by implementing a “supplemental environmental project.” Examples of such projects include stream restoration and replacement of pavement with rain gardens to improve water quality. Continue reading →

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a civil penalty of $6,777 to Ninkasi Holding Company on Feb. 9 for Clean Water Act violations at its Whiteaker facilities. Ninkasi’s Clean Water Act permit requires monitoring for various pollutants in its stormwater discharges four times per year, and Ninkasi failed to take any samples at its Blair Boulevard discharge point, and took only three of the required samples at its Polk Street discharge point. Continue reading →

The Center for Public Integrity recently gave the state of Oregon a grade of “F” in its 2015 State Integrity Investigation, which is a “a comprehensive assessment of state government accountability and transparency done in partnership with Global Integrity.” Oregon also received an “F” on the public access to information component of its overall integrity grade, which is consistent with the “F” given to Oregon by the National Freedom of Information Coalition for lack of transparency. Continue reading →

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently fined Central Point-based LTM, Incorporated (doing business as Knife River Materials) $159,144 for polluting a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Coquille River with sediment; grading and stockpiling earthen material without a Clean Water Act permit; and placing wastes where they are likely to escape into waters of the state. LTM/Knife River’s violations stem from an excavation project on Oregon State Hwy. 42 under a contract with Oregon Department of Transportation. Continue reading →

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting comments through 5 pm Tuesday, Oct. 27, on an application from Fern Ridge School District for Clean Water Act permitting of discharges of construction-related stormwater pollution at Elmira Elementary School. Visit goo.gl/Yp4iAK for info on commenting. Continue reading →

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently visited Bright Oak Meat Company’s Marcola Road facility in response to a complaint of “a strong and pervasive odor” originating from the facility. Odor no longer appeared to be an issue by the time of DEQ’s visit, and the company attributed the problem to animal viscera not having been transported off-site by a waste hauler. DEQ asked to see waste and wastewater monitoring records during its visit and discovered that Bright Oak was not conducting required monitoring, in violation of Oregon law. Continue reading →

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting comments through 5 pm on Friday, Sept. 25 on an application from Utah-based Layton Construction for Clean Water Act permitting of discharges of construction-related stormwater pollution at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, in Springfield. Visit goo.gl/Yp4iAK for info on commenting. Continue reading →