Statewide, OR—The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued 15 penalties totaling $173,926 in September for various environmental violations. A detailed list of violations and resulting penalties is at https://ordeq.org/enforcement.

Fines ranged from $1,700 to $13,600. Alleged violations include construction activities that caused sediment to run into a nearby creek and an industrial facility failing to collect monitoring samples. Additionally, DEQ fined an electric charging company $2.7 millio… for selling fraudulent clean fuel credits and fined a potato processing facility $127,800 for causing nitrate groundwater contamination in the Lower Umatilla Basin. DEQ announced these penalties separately and the fines are not included in the total.

DEQ issued civil penalties to the following organizations:

• Alsea Quarries I, LLC, $1,700, Alsea, air quality
• Central Coast Clean Water - Otter Rock, $2,250, Otter Rock, wastewater
• City of Pendleton, $11,400, Pendleton, wastewater
• Clackamas Water Environment Services (Hoodland STP), $7,500, Welches, wastewater
• Del Monte Fresh Produce, $9,322, Portland, stormwater
• Henseler Family Real Estate Oregon LLC, $13,600, Eugene, stormwater
• Hurtco LLC, $19,135, Astoria, stormwater
• Interstate Meat Distributors, Inc., $6,778, Clackamas, stormwater
• J.R. Simplot Company, $6,800, Portland, stormwater
• Odell STP, $2,700, Hood River, wastewater
• Oldcastle West APG, Inc., $2,200, Portland, air quality
• Richard and Virginia Sorem, $8,400, Portland, water quality
• Roseburg LFG Energy, LLC, $3,600, Roseburg, air quality
• Trimble - Triple Creek, $68,929, Sandy, stormwater
• YRC Freight, Inc., $9,612, Portland, stormwater

Organizations or individuals must either pay the fines or file an appeal within 20 days of receiving notice of the penalty. They may be able to offset a portion of a penalty by funding a supplemental environmental project that improves Oregon’s environment. Learn more about these projects at https://ordeq.org/sep.

Penalties may also include orders requiring specific tasks to prevent ongoing violations or additional environmental harm.

DEQ works with thousands of organizations and individuals to help them comply with laws that protect Oregon’s air, land and water. DEQ uses education, technical assistance, warnings and penalties to change behavior and deter future violations.

Media contact: Lauren Wirtis, public affairs specialist, 503-568-3295, lauren.wirtis@deq.oregon.gov

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