Nonprofit leader calls LUBGWMA ‘sacrifice zone’ during Senate meeting

Berit Thorson | East Oregonian | May 15, 2025

Going against what state agency representatives and local leaders said, Oregon Rural Action’s Kaleb Lay, director of policy and research, said he’s concerned about the progress in northern Morrow and western Umatilla counties regarding well use and drinking water intervention.

Living in the Lower Umatilla Groundwater Management Area means people using wells for drinking water are at risk of having nitrate contamination at levels above what is safe to consume.

Lay was one of 16 people — including local leaders as well as state agency representatives — who offered testimony Tuesday afternoon, May 13, to the Oregon Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire during an informational meeting to hear about the LUBGWMA. “It’s important to remember that in a sacrifice zone, public health (and) state policy are pushed to the back while industrial growth (and) economic output are made the focus,” Lay said. “That is exactly what has happened in the Lower Umatilla Basin.”

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