“‘No more dog and pony’: Portland area lawmakers hear from nitrate-affected Oregonians”

By Antonio Sierra | OPB | November 30, 2023

“It’s been more than a year since Morrow County declared an emergency over nitrate contamination in the Lower Umatilla Basin. But residents are still learning that their water is unsafe to drink.

Gloria Muñoz, 19, said she had just heard about the Boardman area’s nitrate pollution earlier that day. Her Monday night audience included three Oregon state legislators and about 30 residents whose patience in the government’s ability to clean their drinking water was quickly waning.

Muñoz told the crowd in Spanish that she had just moved to Boardman a month ago but had only found out about nitrate pollution the day of the meeting. She worried that the message wasn’t getting through to youth.”