By Tracy Loew | Statesman Journal | Feb. 5, 2025

Large farms would have to report their fertilizer use under a bill being considered by the Oregon Legislature.

The goal, the bill’s backers say, is to avoid situations like the one in the Boardman area, where decades of fertilizer over-application and runoff have contributed to a drinking water crisis.

“Because Oregon does not collect any data on fertilizer use, it’s impossible for agencies to address the problem effectively,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Khanh Pham, D-Portland, said at a legislative hearing Tuesday.

Senate Bill 747 would require owners of at least 200 acres of irrigated land used for agriculture to report, for each field, the rate of fertilizer applied, the type of fertilizer applied, and the crop grown.