Port on Columbia River appeals $1.3M contamination fine

BOARDMAN, Ore. (AP) — The Port of Morrow along the Columbia River has filed an appeal over a nearly $1.3 million fine from state regulators for repeated wastewater violations that contaminated groundwater in the area.

Earlier this month, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined the industrial park outside of Boardman for overapplying wastewater containing nitrogen to agriculture fields and failing to monitor the resulting nitrate contamination.

Regulators say the port exceeded its nitrogen limits by approximately 165 tons in four years, further contaminating groundwater that is used for drinking water in an area that DEQ says is already burdened with pollution.

In the appeal, the port disputed its fine, claiming the violations were “unintentional” and were a result of things that were out of the port’s control, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

The port said it believed it had enough land available to absorb the excess nitrate but “an unexpected combination of less acreage available and unusually high winter precipitation” forced the port to exceed its nitrate limits.

High levels of nitrates in drinking water are linked with serious health concerns, particularly for babies and pregnant women.

The port previously violated its water quality permit in November 2015.

The Port of Morrow is Oregon’s second-largest port, behind the Port of Portland. It is in the Umatilla Basin of northeast Oregon, where in 1990 the state declared a Groundwater Management Area because of high levels of groundwater nitrates.