Federal nitrate pollution lawsuit against Eastern Oregon farms moves forward

By Antonio Sierra | OPB | Feb. 27, 2025

A federal lawsuit accusing agricultural businesses of polluting groundwater in the Lower Umatilla Basin is moving forward and changing venues.

In an 80-page recommendation released Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Hallman mostly favored a group of Eastern Oregon residents, who filed the lawsuit a year ago. Hallman referred the case from Pendleton to a U.S. District Court in Portland.

The state first recognized the public health threats of high nitrate levels in the Lower Umatilla Basin more than three decades ago. Recent studies show the problems have gotten worse. Consuming high levels of nitrates has been linked to a variety of health issues, like cancer, thyroid disease and kidney disorder. Dangerous levels of nitrates in the Lower Umatilla Basin have long been connected to fertilizers and animal waste leaching into the soil.