Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. (1st Avenue)
Location: 3290 W 1st Avenue, Eugene
Activity at this Location: Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. operates a lumber mill at this location.
Discharges: Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. has Clean Water Act permit coverage for industrial stormwater discharges from this site, which are regulated under Oregon’s statewide general industrial stormwater permit, which was issued by and is administered by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Oregon’s statewide general industrial stormwater permit allows permit holders to discharge industrial stormwater provided that they prepare and implement a stormwater pollution control plan, perform required monitoring of discharges, and report the results of this monitoring to the DEQ. Oregon’s statewide general industrial stormwater permit includes “benchmarks” for total copper, total lead, total zinc, pH, total suspended solids, and total oil & grease, and if monitoring of stormwater discharges reveals exceedance of any of these benchmarks, the permit holder must review and, if necessary, revise its stormwater pollution control plan accordingly. The full text of Oregon’s statewide general industrial stormwater permit can be viewed in a PDF file at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Web site.
Where Discharges Go: It appears that discharges from this facility flow toward the A3 Channel of the Amazon Creek system.
Compliance Summary: Zinc levels in stormwater discharged from Hearin Forest Industries, Inc.‘s 1st Avenue facility have regularly exceeded the applicable industrial stormwater permit benchmark of 0.6 milligrams per liter since at least 1997. Oregon Clean Water Action Project sent Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. a letter on behalf of Willamette Riverkeeper on March 7, 2007 informing Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. that Willamette Riverkeeper would file a Clean Water Act suit against Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. unless it addressed its zinc problems. Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. responded to our letter on May 4, letting us know that a new stormwater pollution control plan had been filed with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality that day. Hearin Forest Industries, Inc.‘s new stormwater pollution control plan states that Hearin plans to evaluate various site improvements, including paving, expansion of the drainage system to newly-paved areas if paving is implemented, and coating and/or replacement of older galvanized roofing. A July 12 letter indicates that Hearin had by that time installed some sediment traps and oil & grease filters; was evaluating installation of more; had implemented measures limiting truck ingress and egress; had implemented regular maintenance for sediment traps and oil & grease filters; and was evaluating additional maintenance and sweeping options. Hearin subsequently modified two stormwater vaults by installing new concrete bases to replace gravel and sediment floors and make them easier to clean and to prevent mobilization of gravel and sediment. Hearin also increased the frequency of site sweeping in order to capture sediment before it enters stormwater drainage system.
We will continue to review monitoring results for this facility as soon as they become available in order to gauge the effectiveness of Hearin Forest Industries, Inc.‘s efforts to reduce elevated pollutant levels in its stormwater discharges below permit benchmarks.
Last updated: Oct 01, 2008