Smith Frozen Foods Repeats Water-Quality Violation
Willamette Week is reporting today that Gordon Smith's company, Smith's Frozen Foods, is once again in violation of Oregon's environmental regulations:
According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, an employee of Smith Frozen Foods contacted the state agency on July 29 (while the plant was processing corn) to report an overflow from the company's wastewater lagoon that "resulted in a milky discharge to Pine Creek." The plant — located in tiny Weston, Ore. — responded by placing portable pumps in the creek to remove the contaminated water, the DEQ says. On Aug. 4, the company submitted a "corrective action" plan to the DEQ, listing its efforts to clean the spill, prevent future ones and investigate the cause of the July 29 overflow.
Nonetheless, the incident is considered a serious "Class 1" violation, meaning it "can harm aquatic life, contaminate drinking waters, and impair recreational, commercial and agricultural uses of water." Because the case is still open, the violation has not yet resulted in any fine.
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Aug. 18, 2008
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Aug 18, '08
There is much more relevant stuff to discuss other than this. Have you ever driven by Pine Creek in Weston? I have several times. It's essentially a drainage ditch that an intermittent stream. CL 1 violation - yes. Actual damage to wildlife or aquatic environment nope. The agricultural activities immediately adjacent to Smith Frozen food and Pine Creek do much more damage environmentally (non-treatment and significant chemical runoff, etc. However, Ag is exempt.
Heck, the City of Portland does more environmental damage daily than Smith Frozen Foods wastewater lagoon. Several wastewater overflows are reported across the State every year. This is a non-issue, environmentally speaking.
Aug 18, '08
Agreed. IMHO, such reports only serve to make Smith's opponents appear petty and grasping at straws, hardly a position of strength. Let's focus on policy issues instead and win.
Aug 18, '08
I told you so.
Aug 18, '08
Though off-topic, please allow me to offer a topical suggestion for a Blue Oregon contributor to post right about now. Obama's running mate- discuss. Anyone else cringing at the thought of Joe Biden? Anyone?
9:54 p.m.
Aug 18, '08
We'll open up a thread soon enough, Brian. Please stay on topic here.
As for "Brian" and "Johnnie", keep that up and we'll open up a Troll Donation Drive for, hmmm.... the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. Say hi to Gordon when you see him at the office, 'kay?
Aug 18, '08
you know johnnie, your "it's all relative, man" meme falls short.
If this story is true, Smith is breaking the law.
And we know how much Republicans hate law-breakers.
RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW!
12:29 a.m.
Aug 19, '08
I love the "he did it too!" argument for making this appear it's no big deal. It is a big deal, no matter who does it. And yes, Portland does pollute - and it's in the process of fixing that problem. It's a huge problem that will take a while to fix. But just because they do it doesn't make it ok - polluting water is always bad.
I grew up in a small town in Texas, and from the description of this creek, it sounds like what we called a "bayou." Even though it isn't the prettiest thing, isn't big like the Columbia, or filled with striking views like the Sandy, it's still an important piece of our surface water system. Pollutants that end up in that creek go into wildlife, people's drinking water, and more. I lived along one of those bayous (it was the back border of our property), and I can't tell you how many times companies felt that our "drainage ditch" was insignificant and would dump their pollutants into the bayou.
We ended up with dead wildlife, polluted drinking water, and the risk of what that water would do as it seeped into our ponds (which many of us swam in as well as caught and ate fish from).
Polluting should never be ok.
Aug 19, '08
johnnie said: "This is a non-issue, environmentally speaking." Exactly ... to Senator Smith. To Senator Smith, based on his voting record, the environment truly is a non-issue. The problem, though, is that it's a huge political issue when a sitting representative of the people seems to have difficulty conforming with the law. Unless, of course, 'lawmakers' don't have to follow the law. Help me out here, johnnie, you seem to have a clearer view of what's going on here. Help me understand the irony. Thanks.
Aug 19, '08
Let me get this straight: A little "corn milk" effluvia got into a local creek, and we're supposed to be up in arms?
Other Portlanders may have a different perspective. I mean, have you ever smelled the Willamette after a large rainstorm?
I'm an independent and pretty darned left-leaning, but come on. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
Aug 19, '08
Leorising writes, "Let me get this straight: A little "corn milk" effluvia got into a local creek, and we're supposed to be up in arms?"
The people of Weston are afraid. They are afraid that in this one company town they will lose their jobs if they let anyone know what really goes on there. I have been to Weston, and as I have written here at Blue Oregon before, the smell from the Smith plant is best described as that of a dead horse. This "corn milk" runoff is only what was caught by the DEQ, and is but the tip of the iceberg.
Smith's Plant is Weston stinks - literally. Whatever they do to food in there I don't know, but it was one of the most unhealthy smells I have ever been witness to, worse than an open septic tank. And no one their will tell you because that little town depends upon it as their only real employment.
9:20 a.m.
Aug 19, '08
I'm an independent and pretty darned left-leaning, but come on. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
Another GOP troll telling us to ignore Smith... Can you guys be any more transparent?
10:24 a.m.
Aug 19, '08
From the story itself, this is a violation that: "can harm aquatic life, contaminate drinking waters, and impair recreational, commercial and agricultural uses of water."
Clean water's good for all sorts of reasons -- for business, for tourism, for drinking, and yes, for fish and wildlife.
I don't want my US Senator's company polluting Oregon's waterways -- do you?
And if this is a non-issue, what's durable, Oregon-made furniture? A non-non-non-non-non-issue?
Aug 21, '08
Evan/Edison,
Pine creek is an intermittent stream that western Oregonians would call a ditch. Equipment breaks, things happen. No wastewater system is 100% reliable.
If this is an issue then every politician in the Portland Metro area is guilty of massive environmental catastrophes. The COP has many more wastewater violations and spills in terms of #'s and volume that SFF and as a result creates significantly more environmental damage than SFF. If you are looking strictly in terms of environmental damage the Portland Metro area and ODOT are by far the biggest polluters in the State.
If DEQ says there is negligence then there is an issue. Until then focus on the furniture.
Kari - so if you don't fully support Obama (Go Hillary 2012) GOP troll? Come on. I wouldn't vote to Smith if he convert to a Democrat.
Is the progressive wing of the Democrat Party really trying to push out people who aren't to the left of them? What happened to the big tent?
Johnnie