OCWAP Enforcement Action Summary:
Hearin Forest Industries, Inc. (1st Avenue)
Zinc levels in stormwater discharged from Hearin Forest Industries, Inc.‘s 1st Avenue facility have regularly exceeded the applicable industrial stormwater permit benchmark of 0.7 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. We will continue to review monitoring results for this site as soon as they become available in order to gauge the effectiveness of Hearin Forest Industries, Inc.‘s efforts to reduce zinc in its stormwater discharges below the permit benchmark for zinc.
