SALEM — After repeated requests from Morrow and Umatilla county residents and organizations for a statewide plan to address nitrate contamination in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, the governor’s office has published a nitrate reduction plan in collaboration with four state agencies.

“Oregon Nitrate Reduction Plan for the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area,” published Sept. 20, outlines the state’s short-, medium- and long-term strategies to reduce groundwater nitrate concentrations in the LUBGWMA while continuing its efforts to support public health and drinking water in the interim.

The 153-page document formalizes the state’s role in the nitrate reduction efforts.

Nitrates in groundwater can affect human health, especially that of formula-fed infants and pregnant women. Data show high concentrations of nitrates in the area for more than 30 years.

In addition to Gov. Tina Kotek’s office, the Oregon Health Authority and departments of Environmental Quality, Agriculture and Water Resources contributed to the plan. The agencies also are cooperating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as tribal and local governments and community organizations.

“This is a complex problem with no easy solutions — and it will take collaboration amongst all players to see meaningful change in the Basin,” Kotek said in a press release. “The state is committed to this ongoing work.”

Nitrate plan acts on feedback

In April, Kotek and EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller met with representatives from community-based organizations as well as city and county officials to get feedback on the collaboration between the government and communities in the basin.

At that time, community leaders asked Kotek to take on a more formal role in addressing the issue, beyond the money and resources she dedicated through OHA and other avenues.

“Based on those conversations, Gov. Kotek committed to developing a state-led approach that in the near term delivers safe drinking water to residents,” Sixkiller said in the press release, “and in the longer term works to reduce nitrate contamination in the region’s groundwater.”

Sixkiller said the EPA will be working closely with the state to implement the strategies outlined in the plan.

Cleanup will take decades

Fertilizer, manure, septic systems and wastewater traveling through the soil into groundwater are the most common causes of nitrate contamination. The plan’s executive summary states “it is important to emphasize that this is a complex problem with no simple or quick solutions.”

The plan addresses immediate issues, such as drinking water and well testing from OHA as well as water filtration installation from the Oregon Water Resources Department, which are available and will continue.

However, a major change since the governor’s meeting with public representatives earlier this year is the plan’s metrics of success. For example, OHA has an objective to test 30% of the 1,400 untested domestic wells in the LUBGWMA — as of July 1, 2024 — by June 30, 2025.

Additionally, the plan acknowledges how these agencies must be dedicated long-term to these solutions. The executive summary section notes that it will take decades to clean up the contamination.

“The most effective and feasible way to clean up groundwater contamination of this scale is to control the sources of pollutants,” according to the summary, “so that, over time, clean water cycles into the groundwater system, diluting and eventually replacing contaminated water.”

Part of the long-term solution will come through heightened compliance benchmarks for food processors and irrigated agriculture in the management area.

The Department of Agriculture will update its standards in accordance to best management practices during the next decade in collaboration with Oregon State University and other agencies. For now, ODA is expected to create a model for growers to use as a resource for irrigation and nutrient management, even if the standards aren’t yet required.

The Department of Environmental Quality, which oversees wastewater permits, has been reviewing and updating its permits since 2020 and will continue to do so. The department will require reporting — monthly and/or annually — from permittees to document compliance, the plan says. The DEQ also will track about 30 wells in the basin annually to analyze nitrate trends to help inform its permit criteria.

Representatives praise plan

Leaders sitting on the LUBGWMA Committee support the collaborative plan.

“Success will require sustained commitment from state and local leadership,” said Karen Lewotsky, rural partnerships and water policy director for Oregon Environmental Council, in the press release.

“We will need multi-year, consistent investments in both the long-term strategies identified in the plan,” Lewotsky said, “and in ensuring that all residents currently without access to clean drinking water are provided with safe, effective solutions to that challenge.”

Her fellow committee member, Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran, agreeds.

“Umatilla County is encouraged to see that the state of Oregon has really stepped up to meet one of the greatest challenges of our region,” he said in the release. “Collaboration is key if we want to reduce the concentration of nitrates in our groundwater, and the county is committed to being an active partner in this effort.”

Dorran’s counterpart in Morrow County, Commissioner Roy Drago Jr., said he is grateful to the governor for incorporating community concerns from the get-go while still moving forward toward solutions.

In the press release, Drago said: “The Nitrate Reduction Plan is a great example of how the state has devoted new energy into addressing contaminated drinking water in Morrow County.”