DEQ Proposes to Weaken Water Clarity Pollution Standard

DEQ's Proposal Would Threaten Fish and Wildlife

On October 19, 2005, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released a proposed water clarity (turbidity) standard revision that would let polluters increase pollution by up to several thousand percent in some cases. In fact, the new water clarity standard would be the first standard in Oregon to have a mixing zone built right in where polluters would be free to discharge even the dirtiest of waters without any limits for up to 300 feet downstream of a pollution discharge pipe. This new standard poses a significant threat to fish, wildlife, and the aesthetic values of Oregon's rivers and streams.

Northwest Pulp and Paper Association - Getting What they Paid For

After complaining in 2002 that Oregon's water clarity standard was too strict, the NWPPA, which represents the largest polluters in Oregon, signed a contract with Oregon DEQ in which it agreed to pay DEQ $ 120,000 for the staff time it would take to re-write the water clarity standard. With the release of the revised standard for public comment, NWPPA learned that they got what they paid for.

How You Can Help

Please take a moment to email DEQ at rosetta.thomas.n@deq.state.or.us and tell the agency that you oppose the attempt to weaken Oregon's water clarity standards. For more information, please contact Mark Riskedahl at msr@nedc.org with any questions or comments.

Why the Turbidity Standard is Important

The pictures below are a great example of how the weakened turbidity standard will harm Oregon's rivers and streams.

Before:

This is an outfall on the Columbia Slough in Northeast Portland. Today, the discharge that flows through this outfall is clear and clean. Thanks to the current turbidity standard, NEDC was able to initiate a Clean Water Act citizen suit against Waste Management, Inc. last year in order to get the company to treat its industrial stormwater prior to discharge.

After:

Under DEQ's proposed weaker turbidity standard, we would not have had the leverage necessary to encourage the company to fix the problem - and the discharge of this murky, pollutant-laden stormwater would have been allowed to continue indefinitely.