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Posted: May
02, 2008 - 08:43:15 PDT |
DEQ heightens attention to
G-P wastewater permit
By Jim Fossum Of the
News-Times
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A plume of effluent water off
Nye Beach is shown in this photograph taken on
April 23, 2006, by Santiago Perez, a pilot out of
Oregon State University. The primary outfall from
the mill is located 3,800 feet off the beach. The
plume of black to magenta colored water is visible
year-round and can be viewed on "Google Earth and
Maps" or from many of the hotel rooms along
Newport's shoreline. |
The Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality, supported by recommendations from
the Newport Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, has
made reconsideration of a wastewater permit for
Georgia-Pacific's pulp and paper mill in Toledo its top
water permit issue.
"With this now our highest
priority, we hope to have something by the end of the
year, if not before," Steve Schnurbusch, DEQ's senior
water quality permit analyst, said Thursday. "We've been
examining this on an on-going basis, but it's now our
top priority to work through the issues."
Surfrider, an international nonprofit
organization dedicated to shoreline preservation and
ocean health through conservation, activism, research
and education, has assisted in DEQ's review by
submitting an extensive report intended to support the
agency's reconsideration of G-P's permit.
In
providing input, Surfrider's goal is to help DEQ
formulate a water quality permit for G-P consistent with
state and federal law that is based on the best science
and in the best interests of public health, sustainable
fisheries, and tourism-related economies.
"This
is about holding Oregon accountable for implementing
laws that protect water quality," Pete Stauffer, policy
coordinator for the Oregon Surfrider Foundation, said.
"We're seeking a stronger permit to protect our
nearshore ecosystem and ensure public health for
surfers, clammers, and other recreational
users."
Some of the report's recommendations
focus on the need for enhanced monitoring of marine
species and the environment in the vicinity of the
mill's ocean outfall. Other recommendations provide
guidance and resources for improving the analyses used
to identify potential ecological and public health
impacts.
"The vast majority of these regulations
don't relate to more stringent effluent standards, but
more to just doing the science and doing the appropriate
assessments," Stauffer said. "Absolutely the intent of
this report is to be constructive. It highlights the
problems, why the permit doesn't meet state and federal
law, and provides solutions."
The primary outfall
from the mill is located 3,800 feet off Nye Beach. The
G-P facility releases an average of 11 million gallons
of treated wastewater a day there in the vicinity of
important recreational areas and fishing
grounds.
The outfall's effluent water is visible
year-round as a plume of black to magenta colored water.
It can be viewed on "Google Earth and Maps" or from many
of the hotel rooms along Newport's
shoreline.
"They say a picture's worth a thousand
words, but until most people see the plume in pictures,
this issue really doesn't resonate with a lot of them,"
Charlie Plybon, Surfrider's Oregon field coordinator,
said. "Our members and other concerned citizen groups
have been waiting a long time for this
reconsideration.
"It's a big deal for local
surfers, ocean users and businesses in the community.
The mill is important to our community, too, which is
why we are seeking solutions for DEQ. For those of us
who live in this town, we don't want to see it have a
black eye. We just want clean water."
G-P's water
quality permit (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System Permit) expired on July 31, 2001. Although the
company applied for renewal in a timely fashion, DEQ did
not issue the renewed permit until July 14,
2006.
Many individuals and groups expressed
concern over the proposed renewal during the public
comment process. Five organizations, including
Surfrider, subsequently filed a Petition for
Reconsideration on Sept. 9, 2006, requesting that the
agency reevaluate a variety of issues and terms of the
permit.
DEQ formally accepted the petition on
Oct. 18, 2006, and has been working to complete the
reconsideration since.
On Jan. 22, members of
Surfrider's Environmental Issues Team met with DEQ staff
to discuss the status of the reconsideration process.
During the meeting, it became clear that additional
science-based resources could be helpful in assisting
DEQ staff in its efforts.
After the meeting,
Surfrider produced a report (www.surfrider.org/oregon)
in early April that addresses remaining
concerns.
"We asked them (Surfrider) to put their
issues on paper for us, so we're reading through that
and will incorporate them in making our decision,"
Schnurbusch said.
Surfrider's report includes
recommendations for enhanced monitoring and improved
scientific assessment related to turbidity, bacteria,
dissolved oxygen, and mixing zones.
"The strategy
of the chapter has been a solution-based approach. We
haven't had massive demonstrations at the beach or
aren't flying banners or anything. And we're not going
after the pulp mill," Plybon said. "The Georgia-Pacific
pulp mill is important to this town. Economically and
business-wise, it's been a big part of our
community.
"We don't want to give the pulp mill a
black eye here, but what we do want is for DEQ to
essentially uphold the Clean Water Act and abide by
state and federal law."
Surfrider provided DEQ
with information on additional science-based resources
and recommended that DEQ consider other sources of
monitoring and background data for the Pacific Ocean
near the outfall site.
Among the specific
recommendations were:
€ Establishing a monitoring
program for water, sediments, and organisms adjacent to
the ocean discharge to evaluate pollution impacts and
compliance with the Clean Water Act.
€ Describing
recreational uses in the vicinity of the ocean discharge
and assessing the extent to which these might be
impacted by degraded water quality.
€
Establishing discharge limits on bacteria without a
mixing zone allowance to protect human health and ensure
compliance with water quality standards.
€ Using
available data on turbidity and low-oxygen hypoxic
waters for the permit's water quality evaluations and
limits and determining additional monitoring
needs.
Jim Fossum is a reporter for the
News-Times. He can be reached at 265-8571, ext. 211, or
at jfossum@newportnewstimes.com.
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