A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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The Northwest Environmental Defense Center and Friends of the Tualatin Wildlife Refuge are suing the owner of Lakeside Reclamation Landfill in Washington County to block water flowing from the site to the Tualatin River.
The lawsuit, filed May 7 in Portland’s U.S. District Court, was brought under the federal Clean Water Act. It claims that Howard Grabhorn, who owns the landfill near Beaverton, needs to have a national pollution discharge permit and asks a federal judge to impose daily fines of between $27,500 and $32,500 until Grabhorn obtains the proper permit.
No court date has been set for the lawsuit. Grahhorn has not responded to the lawsuit. More than two months ago, when the lawsuit was threatened, Grabhorn’s representative said the groups were misinformed about the landfill’s discharges. Much of the information in the lawsuit was based on a hasty state Department of Environmental Quality inspection, the representative said in February.
Grabhorn’s Lakeside Reclamation Landfill began operating in 1957 on land southwest of Beaverton and west of Bull Mountain. The landfill covers 33 acres of the 126.2 acres owned by Grabhorn’s family.
According to DEQ records, the landfill is expected to cover 43 acres when it reaches capacity.
The landfill accepts mostly construction demolition waste. DEQ allowed the landfill to take non-hazardous industrial waste sludge from Tektronix.
About 1,200 feet of the landfill property’s southern boundary is only 75 feet from the Tualatin River.
During a Jan. 8 inspection of the landfill, 14930 S.W. Vandermost Road, two DEQ officials discovered that runoff from the landfill’s composting activities was collected in a series of ponds and then flowed into the small creek.
According to the lawsuit, water from the landfill’s composting operation seeps into the creek and then into the Tualatin River. The lawsuit says that when it rains, water flows over industrial waste and “collects pollutants.”
The lawsuit asks that the judge impose fines for every day it has rained in the area since May 7, 2003.
Whatever it takes to bring this disaester to an end. Thankfully there are groups like this that keep these polluters like the Grabhorns in check so the rest of the people and animals can hopefully enjoy the river someday. Right now the Tualatin river is gross.
And what a sad family legacy. How's this for a motto: Grabhorn, Fifty Years of Filthing up Washington County.
(email verified)
Mon, May 12, 2008 at 06:11 AM
Composting? So we are going to try to run them out of business for participating in a "Politically Correct" form of recycling? Ge where I live you can smell 3 recycling/composting operations on a warm day - I wonder when they will be fined for the methane discharge coming from their operations?
(email verified)
Tue, May 13, 2008 at 03:26 AM
The county allowed the land use - brilliant - put a mega landfill in top agricultural land reight beside a beautiful river..... What's a compost facility compared to a landfill. I think the lawsuit will go after contaminated groundwater from the landfill too....
(email verified)
Tue, May 13, 2008 at 04:24 AM
uselandwisely - Well it's none of your business! Government Commitments toward land use can't be changed because your opinion is that they are evil. Their business use was approved at the time they started their venture. Are you against government following through on their commitments? Maybe you are only for government commitments that meet with your approval.
(email verified)
Tue, May 13, 2008 at 04:52 PM
Uselandwisely,
Did you have a problem when the Master Urban Plan put together by the Urban Planning Gurus included paving over the alluvial plain next to the Columbia from 102nd out to 181st and building concrete tiltups until hell wouldn't have them?
That was the PLAN....not what happened in the landfills case where the landfill was in place before there were landuse regs to follow and a conflict resulted.
(email verified)
Wed, May 14, 2008 at 02:07 AM
The WACO land use decision on grabhorn was made in the early 1980's and was faulty. They did not determine the extend of the "grandfather" - usually limited to 10% expansion only. Now its expanded 1000%. Brilliant. Now they won't correct their mistake. Good land use planning is great, bad land use planning is horrible.
Go back to the east coast if you want capitalist piggie stuff....
(email verified)
Wed, May 14, 2008 at 02:38 AM
I was born and raised here, how about you?
And if I want the opinion of a leftist dolt....I will give it to you to repeat back to me. Only way to ensure you have something of value to say, ya know?
Way to dodge the issue. So was paving over the truck farms and land out by the Columbia an example of GOOD PLANNING? Or do you plan to post another nonsensical bob and weave?
Capitalist piggie stuff? Is grade school out already?
Pantload.
(email verified)
Wed, May 14, 2008 at 07:58 AM
So when did we put environmental groups in charge enforcing environmental regulations? I always thought that was the role of the government and the DEQ. Imposing fines for every day that it has rained since 2003? Doesn't that seem a little extreme? How do they know the landfill discharged any pollutants into the Tualatin much less discharged every day that it rained? And why stop at 2003? Why not sue them for every day it rained since they began operation in 1957? Maybe the rain is all Grabhorn's fault. And how has the Northwest Environmental Defense Center been damaged by these alleged discharges? Why are they entitled to millions of dollars?
These extreme environmental groups are notorious for extorting money from people they don't like and if we're not careful they will soon be extorting money from all of us. The scam works something like this-First they find a "deep pocket" who they think might be "polluting". Then they approach the offending party and demand money equal to the amount they believe the DEQ should have access in fines. If the "polluter" refused to pay up then they get sued. It's a slick deal for the attorneys who run these groups. Do they really care about the environment or do they care more about money? What happens once they run out of "deep pockets"? They'll come after us. Ever wash your car in your driveway, fertilize your lawn or throw away something that ended up in the landfill? That's right-we have all "polluted" and we could be next!
(email verified)
Thu, May 15, 2008 at 03:43 AM
If NEDC & Friends win any money from this lawsuit, the funds will go to environmental remediation- cleaning up the Tualatin habitat.
The public interest attorneys that represent NEDC only get paid after a judge decides that the law was broken and only at a rate equal or lower than the cheapest comparable attorney in the area.
Most of NEDC's work is done by student volunteers such as myself. I guarantee you, Mr. Dean, that I am much more interested in restoring salmon habitat than someone's attorney fees. Your criticism is misplaced.
And since no one can sue you for washing your car in your drive way, do the fish a favor and use some biodegradable soap or just skip it.
(email verified)
Sat, May 17, 2008 at 08:18 AM
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Re: Environmental groups sue Grabhorn Landfill
Plain and simple, the state has known about this land fill for years, the county and the DEQ has been in on trade off's for years on other projects so why not this one. I don't believe a daily fine is in order. I think the state/county and the "DEQ" should step up to the plate and take care of "Thier" problem. Any time a land fill is let go for so many years and not taken care of by the "commisions", then I feel it should fall on thier shoulders.
"Chuck Nicodemus"
(email verified)
Mon, May 12, 2008 at 01:06 AM