“State goes door to door in Umatilla to test for contaminated wells”
East Oregonian - By Dakota Castets-Didier - Aug 24, 2023 Updated Aug 27, 2023
UMATILLA — Canvassers went door to door Wednesday, Aug. 25, in Umatilla to test high-nitrate levels in groundwater and to continue to raise awareness about well water contamination.
The Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority have partnered with local organizers, as well as the office of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, to address high-nitrate levels in groundwater in Umatilla and Morrow counties. The door-to-door canvassing continues Aug. 26 in Boardman.
Canvassers offered free well tests and handed out instant tests well users can administer at home.
By Dakota Castets-Didier | East Oregonian | Aug 24, 2023
“Canvassers went door to door Wednesday, Aug. 25, in Umatilla to test high-nitrate levels in groundwater and to continue to raise awareness about well water contamination.
The Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority have partnered with local organizers, as well as the office of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, to address high-nitrate levels in groundwater in Umatilla and Morrow counties. The door-to-door canvassing continues Aug. 26 in Boardman.
Canvassers offered free well tests and handed out instant tests well users can administer at home.”
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“ORA members provide personal update to EPA representatives”
Oregon Rural Action opted for a personal touch when presenting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boardman on Thursday, June 1.
Members of the ORA met with representatives of the EPA to give an update on well testing that has been taking place in the Boardman area as well as to communicate how slowly the testing has been occurring.
“The bottom line is that things are moving too slowly,” ORA community organizer Kaleb Lay said. “I think the EPA heard that and they’ve committed to coming back and doing this regularly. It seems they want to lean into this, but haven’t given the specifics on how they want to do that.”
By Beau Glynn | Hermiston Herald | June 7, 2023
“Oregon Rural Action opted for a personal touch when presenting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boardman on Thursday, June 1.
Members of the ORA met with representatives of the EPA to give an update on well testing that has been taking place in the Boardman area as well as to communicate how slowly the testing has been occurring.
“The bottom line is that things are moving too slowly,” ORA community organizer Kaleb Lay said. “I think the EPA heard that and they’ve committed to coming back and doing this regularly. It seems they want to lean into this, but haven’t given the specifics on how they want to do that.””
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“EPA Meets With Environmentalists in the Midst of Oregon’s Water Contamination Problem”
Northeast Oregon has, unfortunately, a water contamination problem, and they’ve had one for years. If you’re a natural Oregoneon, or a denizen of any other city with poorly-maintained water, that might just be old news.
However, there should be no argument against our right to have safe drinking water and other such natural resources, which is why government groups like the Environmental Protection Agency (or EPA) exist. If water is contaminated, it not only affects the environment, but us as people, and so it’s within their jurisdiction to investigate and find a solution to the problem. This is especially true given they’re a government agency funded by the taxpayers.
If you’re unfamiliar, the contamination problem comes from nitrate. The nitrate itself actually comes from things such as wastewater from industrial plants, animal manure, and form fertilizers. This creates pollution that seeps into the water and the aquifer that provides Northeast Oregon with drinking water.
By Buffy Pollock | Daily Tidings | June 6, 2023
“Northeast Oregon has, unfortunately, a water contamination problem, and they’ve had one for years. If you’re a natural Oregoneon, or a denizen of any other city with poorly-maintained water, that might just be old news.
However, there should be no argument against our right to have safe drinking water and other such natural resources, which is why government groups like the Environmental Protection Agency (or EPA) exist. If water is contaminated, it not only affects the environment, but us as people, and so it’s within their jurisdiction to investigate and find a solution to the problem. This is especially true given they’re a government agency funded by the taxpayers.
If you’re unfamiliar, the contamination problem comes from nitrate. The nitrate itself actually comes from things such as wastewater from industrial plants, animal manure, and form fertilizers. This creates pollution that seeps into the water and the aquifer that provides Northeast Oregon with drinking water.”
“Oregon economic forecast: More money for Legislature to spend, bigger ‘kicker’ tax rebate”
Kotek reiterates priorities
Kotek reiterated her calls for the budget to include $316 million for homelessness prevention, $280 million for behavioral health and $120 million for a literacy initiative. With the additional money, she’s also seeking:
$64 million for water quality and infrastructure issues, especially in rural areas. Earlier this month, she visited Morrow County and spoke with residents who have health issues linked to unsafe levels of nitrates in their drinking water.
By Julia Shumway | Oregon Capital Chronicle | May 17, 2023
“Kotek reiterates priorities
Kotek reiterated her calls for the budget to include $316 million for homelessness prevention, $280 million for behavioral health and $120 million for a literacy initiative. With the additional money, she’s also seeking:
$64 million for water quality and infrastructure issues, especially in rural areas. Earlier this month, she visited Morrow County and spoke with residents who have health issues linked to unsafe levels of nitrates in their drinking water. ”
“Capital Chatter: In Eastern Oregon, Tina Kotek showed up and listened”
Some naysayers had not expected Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek to show up in Boardman. When she did, they figured she would utter mere platitudes.
Instead, the Morrow County residents on Wednesday heard Kotek’s commitment to fixing their dangerously unhealthy well water: “We take this very seriously. And I’m not going to stop until you have what you need.”
“I’m impressed and I’m optimistic,” participant Raymond Akers told me after the evening meeting. Organized by Oregon Rural Action, it was conducted in English and Spanish. About 50 people participated.
Water – quality, quantity and distribution – is the overarching environmental issue throughout the West; indeed, for much of the globe. Yet Oregon’s issues drew little notice while communities such as Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, gained national notoriety.
By Dick Hughes | Oregon Capital Insider | May 4, 2023
“Some naysayers had not expected Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek to show up in Boardman. When she did, they figured she would utter mere platitudes.
Instead, the Morrow County residents on Wednesday heard Kotek’s commitment to fixing their dangerously unhealthy well water: “We take this very seriously. And I’m not going to stop until you have what you need.”
“I’m impressed and I’m optimistic,” participant Raymond Akers told me after the evening meeting. Organized by Oregon Rural Action, it was conducted in English and Spanish. About 50 people participated.
Water – quality, quantity and distribution – is the overarching environmental issue throughout the West; indeed, for much of the globe. Yet Oregon’s issues drew little notice while communities such as Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, gained national notoriety.”
“Kotek visits Boardman residents with contaminated water for first time, hears frustrations, fears”
Oregon Capital Chronicle - By Alex Baumhardt - May 4, 2023
For the first time, Boardman residents expressed their frustration and worries about their contaminated water to Gov. Tina Kotek in person.
During an hourlong meeting in the Boardman Senior Center on Wednesday, dozens discussed their frustration with living with contaminated water for years. They said they had suffered health problems, sometimes losing loved ones to diseases they fear may have been linked to the water.
Mike Pearson said he had been drinking his well water for 30 years, unaware until last summer that it contained more than four times the safe limit of nitrates set by federal authorities.
“When we bought the place they didn’t say a darn thing about nitrate,” Pearson told Kotek at a community meeting at the Boardman Senior Center.
Her visit was the first by an Oregon governor to an area where wells have been contaminated with nitrates for decades, and the first since Morrow County declared a state of emergency over the issue last June. Perhaps thousands of residents in Morrow and Umatilla counties, many of them low-income and Latino, have contaminated well water, but the state has been slow to respond. Kotek has proposed more than $6 million in aid over the next two years for agency staff, water testing, water delivery and filters.
By Alex Baumhardt | Oregon Capital Chronicle | May 4, 2023
“For the first time, Boardman residents expressed their frustration and worries about their contaminated water to Gov. Tina Kotek in person.
During an hourlong meeting in the Boardman Senior Center on Wednesday, dozens discussed their frustration with living with contaminated water for years. They said they had suffered health problems, sometimes losing loved ones to diseases they fear may have been linked to the water.
Mike Pearson said he had been drinking his well water for 30 years, unaware until last summer that it contained more than four times the safe limit of nitrates set by federal authorities.
“When we bought the place they didn’t say a darn thing about nitrate,” Pearson told Kotek at a community meeting at the Boardman Senior Center.
Her visit was the first by an Oregon governor to an area where wells have been contaminated with nitrates for decades, and the first since Morrow County declared a state of emergency over the issue last June. Perhaps thousands of residents in Morrow and Umatilla counties, many of them low-income and Latino, have contaminated well water, but the state has been slow to respond. Kotek has proposed more than $6 million in aid over the next two years for agency staff, water testing, water delivery and filters.”
“Hermiston-Area Ag, Latino Leaders Meet With Gov. Tina Kotek”
Northeast Oregon Now - By Michael Kane - May 4, 2023
Gov. Tina Kotek met with Hermiston’s Latino community leaders Wednesday morning, May 3, to hear about the critical issues facing the Hispanic population — and those attending spoke up.
A wide range of issues were discussed at the roundtable at Hermiston City Hall. Everything from water contamination, mental health struggles, affordable housing and after-school programs were touched on during the hour-long session.
“I’m here to do a lot of listening,” Kotek said at the outset.
Jose Garcia, chair of the Hermiston Hispanic Advisory Committee, said one of the primary challenges facing the Latino community is getting information out to those who need it.
By Michael Kane | Northeast Oregon Now | May 4, 2023
“Gov. Tina Kotek met with Hermiston’s Latino community leaders Wednesday morning, May 3, to hear about the critical issues facing the Hispanic population — and those attending spoke up.
A wide range of issues were discussed at the roundtable at Hermiston City Hall. Everything from water contamination, mental health struggles, affordable housing and after-school programs were touched on during the hour-long session.
“I’m here to do a lot of listening,” Kotek said at the outset.
Jose Garcia, chair of the Hermiston Hispanic Advisory Committee, said one of the primary challenges facing the Latino community is getting information out to those who need it.”
“Oregon governor pledges to address decades of groundwater pollution in Lower Umatilla Basin”
Oregon Public Broadcasting - By Monica Samayoa & Antonio Sierra - May 4, 2023
Gov. Tina Kotek is ramping up pressure on state government to solve a three-decade nitrate crisis in Eastern Oregon’s Lower Umatilla Basin, but during a tour of the region Wednesday, she stopped short of declaring a state of emergency.
Gov. Kotek spent much of Wednesday with community leaders and residents in Morrow County to learn more about the groundwater pollution in the region as part of her One Oregon Tour. She’s the highest elected state official to directly address nitrate contamination.
“It’s a new day. It has taken a while to get here,” Kotek said to a small group of Latino leaders in Hermiston. “We have to reduce the pollutants going into the watershed. There’s a lot of effort going on to make sure we have a long-term solution. Our job is to hold people accountable.”
Leaders and residents from the region asked the governor for more education and outreach about the health effects of drinking contaminated tap water, more free private well testing and creating a community group to hold state agencies accountable.
By Monica Samayoa & Antonio Sierra | OPB | May 4, 2023
“Gov. Tina Kotek is ramping up pressure on state government to solve a three-decade nitrate crisis in Eastern Oregon’s Lower Umatilla Basin, but during a tour of the region Wednesday, she stopped short of declaring a state of emergency.
Gov. Kotek spent much of Wednesday with community leaders and residents in Morrow County to learn more about the groundwater pollution in the region as part of her One Oregon Tour. She’s the highest elected state official to directly address nitrate contamination.
“It’s a new day. It has taken a while to get here,” Kotek said to a small group of Latino leaders in Hermiston. “We have to reduce the pollutants going into the watershed. There’s a lot of effort going on to make sure we have a long-term solution. Our job is to hold people accountable.”
Leaders and residents from the region asked the governor for more education and outreach about the health effects of drinking contaminated tap water, more free private well testing and creating a community group to hold state agencies accountable.”
“Writer's Notebook: Aggrieved citizens want dignity”
The Astorian - By Steve Forrester - Apr 27, 2023
If you write for a living, you learn that inspiration cannot be predicted. It sometimes arrives when you least suspect it.
My most recent ray of light was provided by Nella Mae Parks, in an essay published in the current issue of The Other Oregon, the quarterly magazine our company produces about life in rural Oregon.
Parks is a farmer, writer and organizer who lives in Cove — a northeast Oregon town of some 680, with another 1,200 in its school district on the eastern edge of the Grande Ronde Valley. After coming our way five years ago, Parks gives our readers a window on the rural, agricultural world, which city dwellers seldom see.
By Steve Forrester | The Astorian | Apr 27, 2023
“If you write for a living, you learn that inspiration cannot be predicted. It sometimes arrives when you least suspect it.
My most recent ray of light was provided by Nella Mae Parks, in an essay published in the current issue of The Other Oregon, the quarterly magazine our company produces about life in rural Oregon.
Parks is a farmer, writer and organizer who lives in Cove — a northeast Oregon town of some 680, with another 1,200 in its school district on the eastern edge of the Grande Ronde Valley. After coming our way five years ago, Parks gives our readers a window on the rural, agricultural world, which city dwellers seldom see.”
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“Morrow County residents head to Salem seeking help from legislators for the nitrate levels in their water”
By Sigmud Seroka | KNDO/KNDU NonStop Local - Tri-Cities / Yakima | April 22, 2023
“Morrow County residents are seeking urgent help from state legislators after waiting over a year for a plan to lower the nitrate levels in the local drinking water.
Senior Organizer for Oregon Rural Action Nella Mae Parks says she helped Boardman residents travel to Salem to speak with legislative staff about the current issues in Morrow County.
Parks says the state is not taking the nitrate problem seriously.”