DEQ fines Huntington $1,500

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has fined the city of Huntington $1,500 for failing to properly disinfect wastewater released from the city’s treatment plant into the Burnt River.

Huntington officials admit the violation, which happened when a machine that adds chlorine to the wastewater failed, and will not contest the fine, City Recorder Tracy McCue said.

The violation happened in March of this year.

A wastewater sample taken from the treatment plant on March 4 contained E. coli bacteria at a concentration of 866 organisms per 100 milliliters, said Bryan Smith of the DEQ.

The allowable limit for E. coli in wastewater is 126 organisms per 100 milliliters, he said.

Smith emphasized that the bacteria was in wastewater, not the drinking water the city supplies to its residents and businesses.

“This has nothing to do with Huntington’s drinking water,” he said.

The DEQ requires the city to test its wastewater monthly, Smith said.

The city adds chlorine to wastewater to kill E. coli and other contaminants before the water flows into the Burnt River.

Huntington’s treatment plant is near the mouth of that river, which empties into Brownlee Reservoir on the Snake River.

When Huntington public works employees noticed that a regulator on the chlorinator was broken, they ordered repair parts, McCue said.

Smith said DEQ decided to fine Huntington in part because the city didn’t have those replacement parts in stock.

McCue said the city intends to have those parts on hand in the future. She also hopes to buy a new chlorinator and keep the current one as an emergency backup.