Baker City fined for a DEQ penalty
By Paul Hall on Friday, June 25th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
BAKER CITY – (Information provided by DEQ) The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued four penalties totaling $104,699 in May for various environmental violations. A detailed list of violations and resulting penalties is at https://go.usa.gov/xEQJn.
Fines ranged from $8,924 to $81,681. Alleged violations included a hemp extractor failing to comply with hazardous waste requirements, a city not complying with wastewater monitoring requirements and a sanitary district exceeding total suspended solids limits.
DEQ issued civil penalties to the following organizations:
- City of Baker City, $8,924, Baker City, wastewater
- McFarlane’s Bark Inc., $12,894, Milwaukie, wastewater
- Octave Labs LLC, $81,681, Pleasant Hill, hazardous waste
- Sundown Sanitary District, $1,200, Astoria, wastewater
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. Read more about these projects here: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/Regulations/Pages/SEP.aspx.
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.
