By Logan Bagett on Thursday, November 30th, 2023 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
MT. VERNON – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a penalty to a Grant County company in violation with an underground storage tank.
The civil penaltiy was issued to Triangle Oil, Inc. in Mt. Vernon, who must pay $17,981 to the state treasury or file an appeal within 20 days of receiving notice of the penalty. Find the DEQ’s full press release below:
(Press Release from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality)
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued 17 penalties totaling $305,021 in October for various environmental violations. A detailed list of violations and resulting penalties is at https://ordeq.org/enforcement.
Fines ranged from $1,410 to $106,778. Alleged violations included a city discharging untreated sewage, a vape company improperly handling hazardous wastes, and a trucking company not immediately reporting and cleaning up an oil spill. This includes a combined $134,378 penalty to the Winchester Water Control District and TerraFirma Foundation Repair Inc. for water quality violations during Winchester Dam repairs, which DEQ announced on Oct. 26.
DEQ issued civil penalties to the following organizations and individuals:
Organizations or individuals must either pay the fines to the state treasury 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. Learn more about these projects at https://ordeq.org/sep. 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.