Pollution Update (Best of Edition)

The most common type of Clean Water Act discharge permit in Oregon is the one for facilities that discharge industrial stormwater. In Lane County, about 120 facilities discharge to local waters pursuant this permit, and these facilities are required to monitor their discharges four times a year and submit monitoring results to regulatory authorities (either DEQ or the city of Eugene) by July 31 each year. Monitoring results for 2012-13 are in, and while the pollution discharges for the majority of local facilities were below benchmark levels, the following facilities had the worst reported discharges: Gheen Irrigation Works’ Lake Eugene facility on Airport Road discharged copper at more than 18 times the applicable benchmark and oil and grease at over two times the applicable benchmark; Ecosort discharged lead at almost three times the applicable benchmark at its Glenwood facility; Gibson Steel Fabricating discharged zinc at over 51 times the applicable benchmark at its facility near 2nd and Washington; Extreme Technologies’ Bowtech Archery facility on Highway 99 discharged suspended solids at 10.5 times the applicable benchmark; Attune Foods reported discharges with acidity similar to that of lemon juice.