PORTLAND OR (3/20/2012) – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $6,223 penalty to Canron Western Constructors Inc., which operates a steel fabricating facility at 4600 NE 138th Ave., Portland, near the Columbia Slough, for failing to collect all stormwater discharge data as its permit requires.

The facility operates under a stormwater discharge permit which requires it to regularly monitor its stormwater at several sampling points on its site. Records submitted by the company indicate that it failed to perform the required monitoring at five of its sampling locations during the 2010-11 monitoring year.

DEQ issued the penalty because facilities permitted to discharge stormwater must monitor their discharge to ensure that their effluent meets water quality benchmarks outlined in the permit. Failing to meet these benchmarks may indicate harmful levels of industrial pollutants that could enter the Columbia Slough. These pollutants can damage aquatic species and their habitat, as well as reduce the quality of public waters.

Canron Western Constructors has until April 4 to appeal the penalty.

Contact: Jenny Root, Environmental Law Specialist, Portland, 503-229-5874