Virginia Forest Watch



Did the Oregon DEQ look the other way?


by Paul Koberstein and John Paul Williams
/Cascadia Times


Part 4

As one group of EPA investigators probed Willamette Industries and its dirty air, another set of Environmental Protection Agency gumshoes snooped around the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for its dirty laundry. Though the two inquiries were not related, together they suggest Willamette Industries was not acting alone.

The Oregon DEQ's role is important here because it enforces the Clean Air Act and other federal environmental laws in the state. It's true that if the state agency fails the properly enforce the law, the EPA can step in and take over, but it rarely does so. The public wants clean air, and expects the DEQ to deliver it.

Unfortunately, the two investigations reinforce old suspicions about the DEQ. For years, its critics have questioned whether it is truly serious about safeguarding air quality, or would just as soon coddle the big polluters.

"This whole thing is totally absurd," said Sarah Doll of the Oregon Environmental Council, the state's oldest environmental organization. "The DEQ is supposed to be policing our environment. Instead, they are hanging out in the donut shop."

"Is it the DEQ's job to enforce the law, or to serve as a chamber of commerce to increase profits at the expense of public health?" asks David Paul, a Portland lawyer. "Who can fault a company for rolling the DEQ? It's what the agency has encouraged, and its in their financial best interest to do so."

As the EPA's investigators poured through DEQ files, they found a number of instances that might sound like steamrolling. For instance:

  • At least four air polluters in Oregon may have gotten "sham" permits from the DEQ. The EPA ordered further investigation of these. The EPA defined a sham permit as one in which emission limits in a permit did not reflect the facility's true air emissions potential. In response, the DEQ did not deny the charge, saying it needed more information. The state agency also said that the allegation was "not appropriate" in the audit because the word "sham" implies "collusion" between the agency and the polluter.

  • By ignorance or indifference, DEQ allowed five paper manufacturers to expand without proper air pollution permits: Boise Cascade, James River, Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, Pope & Talbot and Weyerhaeuser. The DEQ knew about the expansions. In the dry words of the audit, "Correspondence from companies indicating construction had taken place were sent to DEQ."

  • The DEQ many times has made bizarre decisions to increase the amount of pollution a company can release. In these decisions, the DEQ relied data provided by the polluter that was 10 to 20 years old, and not independently verified by the agency.

  • Few, if any, modifications (such as those done by Willamette Industries) triggered a review under "prevention of significant deterioration" rules intended to make sure that air quality is not degraded in areas where national air quality standards are being met. As an example, the DEQ relaxed standards for Oregon Steel, a large air polluter in North Portland. The DEQ found that Oregon Steel was violating its permit by releasing too much carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. Instead of fining Oregon Steel for breaking the law, the DEQ gave Oregon Steel a sort of get out of jail free card by legalizing the excessive pollution.

  • The DEQ over the years of failed to require major polluters to get permits, as seen in the Willamette Industries case. Only once has the DEQ levied a substantial penalty against a polluter that failed to obtain a permit. In two cases, involving Boise Cascade and Georgia-Pacific, the EPA years ago warned the DEQ to make sure they had permits. As the EPA put it, "There is no indication any action was taken on the issues."

  • Even when the DEQ did take action against violators, its penalties were "low given the length or type of violation, and not sufficient to act as deterrents," the EPA said. The EPA found the DEQ was especially lenient toward the major violators.

Cascadia Times asked DEQ Director Langdon Marsh whether the EPA investigation of Willamette Industries and the audit reflected poorly on the agency. Marsh said the DEQ has a different approach to law enforcement than the EPA. The DEQ tries to help businesses comply with the law, rather than be a tough cop. But he said the agency will also issue fines where necessary. Annual fines paid by Oregon polluters, he said, range from $1 million to $1.4 million.

"We do as much as we can through working with companies," Marsh said, "before minor things become major things."

Marsh was unable to explain the Willamette Industry violations. "Usually we go after folks who don't have a permit," he said.

Bruce White, a DEQ spokesman, said in a letter to Cascadia Times that the EPA's Willamette Industries investigation "is not a review of how DEQ handles monitoring of these facilities."

White said the DEQ has collected data on many of the facilities investigated by EPA since the 1980s, and in the 1990s went through a comprehensive review of the same emissions data.

"During that review DEQ used the best information it had to monitor these facilities, and did not identify the many violations that EPA asserts. Upon completion of EPA's investigation, DEQ will review all the data EPA used and reach its own conclusions on potential violations at Willamette Industries facilities in Oregon."