Across rural Oregon, state and federal laws don鈥檛 protect clean drinking water. That鈥檚 because these safeguards exclude private domestic wells, with consequences that were highlighted by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley last week at a congressional hearing on infrastructure spending.
At Thursday鈥檚 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, the senator pointed to OPB鈥檚 reporting on two regions: In Eastern Oregon where more than 4,000 wells are at risk from decades of nitrate pollution by agricultural interests, and in Central Oregon, plumbing disasters and health concerns.
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 sell their homes. They鈥檙e afraid to raise their children, but they can鈥檛 afford to move,鈥� Merkley said. 鈥淚t seems to me like these are exactly the sorts of things that we鈥檙e trying to provide funds for, and the [Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act] to assist, and I want us to find a way to help these communities out.鈥�
By and large, rural well owners don鈥檛 benefit from federal infrastructure investments reserved for public water systems. That鈥檚 as roughly one quarter of Oregonians get their drinking water from private wells, which aren鈥檛 regulated by the state. Homeowners are responsible for their own testing to rule out contamination.
That dynamic has lately been shifting in Morrow and Umatilla counties, where the longstanding and wide-reaching dangers of nitrate pollution leaders, who are now promising millions to pay for comprehensive outreach, testing and alternative water supplies.
In Crook County, however, a smaller contingent of residents are on their own to try and identify . Depending on the concentration, this metal can cause a range of problems, from stained laundry to liver issues and neurological dysfunction.
Earlier this year, Oregon regulators dismissed Crook County residents鈥� complaints against the surface mining giant Knife River Corporation Northwest. Over the summer, Merkley and his fellow Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden urged the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the state鈥檚 conclusion.
But, the EPA refused, saying its 鈥渄rinking water oversight is limited in this case, because private wells are not regulated under the [federal] Safe Drinking Water Act,鈥� according to a June 29 letter to the senators from the agency鈥檚 regional administrator, Casey Sixkiller.
Crook County residents have since paid a private consultant to plan water sampling.
Recent emails show that consultant, Jim Newton, asked Knife River for access to water sources on the mining site, but the company refused.
鈥淲e will cooperate with the appropriate agencies as directed but will not be allowing direct access for interested private parties at this time,鈥� Knife River鈥檚 Matt Ropp wrote to Newton in a Sept. 1 email.
In a follow-up statement to OPB, Ropp said Oregon regulators 鈥渉ave clearly stated that our operations are not causing any changes in the level of manganese in the groundwater.鈥�
Oregon鈥檚 mining regulator, the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, said it will negotiate access if the residents can offer a better sampling plan.
鈥淒OGAMI has made it clear that we will help secure access should [the residents] not be able to do so. However, both access and help are contingent on their ability to produce a detailed water sampling plan,鈥� DOGAMI spokesperson Alex Lopez said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 Oregon Public Broadcasting. To see more, visit .
