On this day, May 21, 2001, in Seattle, Wa., members of the Earth Liberation Front torched the Univ. of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture causing about $6 million in damage. An Oregon tree farm owned by Jefferson Poplar Farms was also burned. four people were later convicted of taking part in the firebombing. One later committed suicide in prison.
Also on this day, May 21, 2002, The George W. Bush administration said it will allow new mining to resume on nearly one million acres of the Siskiyou region.
Also on this day, May 21, 2006, demolition crews destroyed the 499-foot cooling tower of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. Demolition of the containment dome was scheduled in 2008.
Also on this day, May 21, 1998, 15 year-old Kipland Kinkel killed one classmate and wounded 19 more at Thurston High School. His parents, William and Faith, were found shot dead at home and a 2nd student died the next day. He had been expelled from school the previous day for bringing a gun to school. Kinkel dropped an insanity plea in 1999 and pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and 26 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced over 111 years in prison.
For additional nitrate violations in Eastern Oregon
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a
revised penalty to the Port of Morrow for additional violations involving overapplication of wastewater containing nitrogen to agricultural fields in the Lower Umatilla Basin, an area with longstanding groundwater contamination. DEQ issued the original penalty in January. The additional violations increase the fine by $800,000, from $1.3 million to $2.1 million.
The Port of Morrow is one of many sources contributing to nitrate contamination in northern Morrow and Umatilla counties—an area known as the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area. The primary source of contamination in the area (about 70%) is from fertilizer use on irrigated farmland, according to the LUBGWMA Action Plan. Additional contributors are dairy and cattle farms (about 20%), food processing facilities like the Port of Morrow that reuse wastewater to irrigate fields (about 5%), and residential septic systems and other sources (about 5%).
The Port of Morrow collects wastewater from food processors, storage facilities and data centers in its industrial park outside Boardman. The port has a DEQ water quality permit that allows it to use the nitrogen-rich wastewater for irrigation on nearby farms, but the permit includes limits on how much nitrogen can be applied to the farmland and how much nitrate and moisture can be present in soil prior to applications.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The amended notice cites the port for additional occurrences of applying wastewater containing nitrogen to fields that already had too much existing nitrate or moisture in the soil. Having too much nitrate or moisture in the soil when applying wastewater increases the likelihood of nitrates flowing down into the groundwater rather than remaining in the soil for crops to use.
The port documented additional violations to DEQ in its annual report and in email and phone reports of non-compliance. The additional violations occurred between November 2020 to February 2021 and November 2021 to February 2022.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2022-06-17 09:58:43 | Last Update: 2022-06-17 11:29:54 |
