The Union County Fairgrounds Sewerline Project is Officially Funded
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, August 11th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – In a moment that many thought would never come, The Union County Fairgrounds has finally, and definitively, secured state funding for its wastewater project. On August 7, 2025, Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 5006 and Senate Bill 5531, officially authorizing the distribution of over 2.5 million dollars for the long awaited project. Years of persistent funding requests have finally come to fruition.
Specifically, Section 110, subsection 19 of House Bill 5006 authorizes $2,539,405 in lottery bond funding to the Union County Fair Association for “water and wastewater improvement.”
For those unfamiliar with the situation, for years leading up to the 2025 legislative session, Union County has been seeking state support to fund the construction of a new, modern, water and septic system that would connect the fairgrounds to the City of La Grande’s water and sewer system. As many county residents are likely familiar with, the Union County Fairgrounds original septic system began failing over twenty years ago, with the bathrooms becoming completely non-operable around a decade ago. Combined with previous funds raised and contributed by the City of La Grande, the fairgrounds will finally new and modern plumbing.
Reflecting on the massive win, the Union County Fairgrounds would post the following to social media on August 7, not long after the official signing:
“This is a major win for our community — paving the way for essential water and sewer infrastructure improvements that will support future growth, safety, and long-term use of the fairgrounds.
A heartfelt thank-you to those who made this possible:
At the request of:
• Chief Sponsor: Representative Bobby Levy
• Regular Sponsors: Representatives Diehl, Drazan, Helfrich, Lively, Osborne, Owens, Skarlatos, Smith G, Wright, and Yunker
With strong local support from our Union County Commissioners:
• Matt Scarfo
• Paul Anders
• Jake Seavert
• Donna Beverage (retired)
This would not have happened without strong leadership and unwavering community support.
Thank you for believing in Union County. The work starts now!”
Senator Todd Nash was also a key legislative advocate for the fairground funding.
Commissioner Matt Scarfo, the county liaison to the fair board and a driving force behind the fairground funding requests for years now, was nigh speechless when Elkhorn Media Group reached out for comment, remarking: “Can you believe it? “I’m relieved! This is something that’s important not just to the fair but to Union County! I’ve been doing this for a long time. Persistence paid off.”
Given the costs and complexity of the project, no timeline has been publicly announced for groundbreaking, but planning was already well underway when the bills passed the house and senate in early July. Some basic construction materials were also previously purchased and the old bathrooms already knocked down.
Also, for anyone that may have seen different bill numbers mentioned by both media and funding advocates, note that House Bill 5006 and Senate Bill 5531 were the ones officially signed by Governor Kotek and approved by the Senate and House. Senate Bill 2527, a standalone bill requesting funding, was considered during the legislative session but was not approved. Elkhorn Media Group has reached out to the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for clarification and why the fairground funding authorization was included in both 5006 and 5531, and which of the two officially distributes the funding to the Union County Fairgrounds.
Regardless of the specifics, county commissioners and the Union County Fair Board have confirmed the funding has been authorized. Going forward, county residents can look forward to new restroom and plumbing facilities at the fairgrounds.
For more information on the fairgrounds project and the construction plan, see our previous article here: https://elkhornmediagroup.com/years-in-the-making-union-county-fairgrounds-wastewater-project-funding-is-finally-approved/
