U.S. Water News Online
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Portland legal group has alerted four timber companies, State Forester Marvin Brown and the state Board of Forestry that a lawsuit is in the works because of federal Clean Water Act violations.
The Northwest Environmental Defense Center says logging roads are funneling polluted water into Coast Range rivers when it rains.
The group, which is based at Lewis & Clark College, has effectively used similar Clean Water Act lawsuits against companies releasing pollution into the Columbia Slough and Willamette River.
The group said it has water tests and video footage that prove the muddy water is entering the Trask and Kilchis rivers, prime salmon rivers that run into Tillamook Bay.
Executive Director Mark Riskedahl said he hopes the state and companies will negotiate a solution within the next two months, otherwise the groups will file a lawsuit.
The Oregon Department of Forestry has documented the problems in its own reports over the past decade. The department told The Oregonian newspaper that it would not comment on the planned lawsuit.
Steve Zika, president of Hampton Tree Farms, one of the companies that faces the possible suit, said Oregon forests lead the nation on environmental standards.
"I'd love to match the water in our forests with water around Portland or any other area," he said.
State forest practice rules require that runoff from roads be directed away from rivers and streams so the muddy water can be filtered through the soil of the forest floor. The state has spent millions of dollars on road systems across the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests to meet that standard, said Keith Mills, forest engineering coordinator with the Department of Forestry.
"We know this is an important issue, and we've really been focusing on making improvements," he said. "The roads are very different now. They're much improved."
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