Port of Morrow continues to apply excess nitrates on farmland, misses payment deadline

The port is set to pay the Oregon Health Authority $2 million over the next two years through the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Supplemental Environmental Projects. It completed the first payment of $1 million on Friday, almost a month after the payment’s due date.

Oregon Public Broadcasting - By Monica Samayoa January 26, 2024

The Port of Morrow violated its wastewater permit more than 270 times during the last two months of 2023, adding to the ongoing groundwater pollution crisis in the region, and failed to make a state agency payment on time.

According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Port of Morrow’s annual report for 2023 shows it violated its newly modified wastewater permit 273 times in November and December.

This comes after the port reached a settlement agreement with DEQ and agreed to a $2.4 million fine. The port was fined in January 2022 for over-applying more than 200 tons of nitrogen-rich wastewater on nearby agricultural fields. The fine was later increased in June.

Under the recently settled agreement, DEQ modified the port’s permit by reducing the amount of wastewater the port can apply to nearby farmland during the non-growing season from November to February. The port is also required to add additional wastewater treatment capacity.