Rainier, OR (6/27/2018) — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has fined the City of Rainier $23,700 for multiple violations involving its sewage treatment plant.

Violations include discharging raw sewage to the Columbia River on 36 occasions in 2017 and 2018, failing to notify DEQ and the public about many of those sewage overflows, and failing to properly report results of water quality monitoring.

DEQ inspectors discovered several months of water quality monitoring reports from 2013 and 2014 that were identical to reports from previous months.

“Given the variability in untreated wastewater and treatment processes, the probability that the treatment plant had identical monitoring results is infinitesimal,” said Kieran O’Donnell, DEQ manager of compliance and enforcement.

Raw sewage poses a substantial risk to human health and is a harmful water pollutant. DEQ requires the city to monitor its wastewater, maintain records and report sewage overflows to protect public health and the environment.

Rainier has 20 days to appeal the violations.

View the full enforcement letter at: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/nr/062718rainier.pdf

Contact Donnie Oliveira, Communications Manager, 503-229-5176, oliveira.donald@deq.state.or.us