DEQ issues six penalties in December for environmental violations

Statewide, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued six penalties totaling $488,874 in December for various environmental violations. A detailed list of violations and resulting penalties is at https://ordeq.org/enforcement.

Fines ranged from $5,050 to $372,600. Alleged violations included a wastewater treatment and disposal system that exceeded pollution limits and discharged wastewater to a creek when not permitted to, a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility that failed to properly treat hazardous waste prior to disposing it and a fuel products transloading company that modified its facility and operated that change without authorization from DEQ.

DEQ issued civil penalties to the following organizations:

• Chemical Waste Management, Arlington, $49,200, hazardous waste.
• City of Junction City, Junction City, $5,050, wastewater.
• City of Lebanon, Lebanon, $33,800, wastewater.
• Container Management Services, LLC, Portland, $21,224, hazardous waste.
• HempNova Lifetech Corp., Central Point, $7,000, hazardous waste.
• Zenith Energy Terminal Holdings, LLC, Portland, $372,600, air quality permitting. Learn more about this case by reading the press release DEQ issued on Dec. 6, 2024.

Recipients of DEQ civil penalties 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.

Media contact: Michael Loch, public affairs specialist, michael.loch@deq.oregon.gov, 503-737-9435.

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