Oregon has a proud history of protecting its wildlife and natural resources.
We also have significant environmental problems.
The latter is particularly frustrating when the best intentions are left to languish under the weight of an underfunded bureaucracy. We all think we’re doing the right thing, that we’ve done our part, but the problem festers.
Our story in this edition on Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality is a clear illustration of these placebo politics. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Oregon has the highest percentage of expired state-issued, wastewater permits in the nation. This, despite having the some of the toughest water pollution regulations in the United States. In 2012, Oregon’s waterways were ranked the 33rd most polluted in the nation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory.
DEQ says it doesn’t have the resources to do the job. The department was already navigating a major backlog when the recession hit, prompting nearly 20 percent cuts in staff and resources. The consequence? Regulations on emissions into our waterways that came into effect after a state-issued permit was written aren’t being enforced. In some cases, this backlog stretches back to the 1980s. What we’ve learned about the ecological impact of chemicals, accepted discharge levels and water and fish consumption have changed significantly in recent decades, as did our environmental standards. Yet the status quo on permits is extended time and time again. It’s a kind of “pay it forward,” only this is more like “pay for it forward.”
In addition to the larger environmental impact, the water quality of Oregon’s rivers, lakes and streams is linked directly to the health of our fish and wildlife, including the resources many families rely on. This isn’t just between business and government. This is an issue of a community’s health. A polluter’s liability extends no further than the compliance of their current permit, even if it only reflects the environmental standards of the first Reagan administration.
It’s the kind of penny-wise and pound-foolish policy that gets played out on many fronts. Maybe it’s human nature: the political tendency to be seen tackling a problem after the fact — after the damage is done — rather than investing in the less sensational approach: prevention. It is as true of our environmental protections as it is our education system, housing equity and policies around homelessness and poverty.
If we as Oregonians believe in the protection of one of our most vital natural resources, then we have to support what it takes to ensure its safety. Our DEQ needs the infusion of support, through fees and government funding, to update permits and assist companies and wastewater treatment plants in complying with the new standards that apply. The values and policies of Oregonians shouldn’t be mere paper tigers — toothless and underfunded. They need bite.
