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News Release
For release: Nov. 13, 2012 Contacts: DEQ Fines Clean Water Services $4,800 for Exceeding Chlorine Effluent Limit at Durham Wastewater Treatment Plant The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $4,800 penalty to Hillsboro-based wastewater utility provider Clean Water Services for exceeding the chlorine effluent limit last August from its Durham wastewater treatment plant in Tigard. Clean Water Services operates its Durham Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility at 16580 SW 85th Ave. The facility serves about 250,000 area residents and functions under a DEQ-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit which allows the facility to discharge treated wastewater to the Tualatin River. The permit outlines specific levels of pollutants that may be discharged to the river after treatment, as well as other operational conditions. DEQ issued the penalty because on Aug. 22, 2012, the facility discharged wastewater with a total residual chlorine concentration above the permit’s allowable limit. The permit limits chlorine discharge because chlorine is highly toxic to fish and other aquatic life and can kill or injure aquatic species even at very low concentrations. Clean Water Services has until Nov. 28 to appeal the penalty. |
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