Strict water pollution standard proposed for Ore.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon environmental regulators are proposing what may be the toughest water pollution standards in the nation.

The new rules recommended by the state Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday would dramatically tighten human health criteria for a host of pollutants, including mercury, flame retardants, PCBs, dioxins, plasticizers and pesticides, The Oregonian reported.

Tribes have pushed for decades for stricter pollution rules, driven by concerns about tribal members and others who eat large amounts of contaminated fish.

Oregon's current water quality standard is built on an assumption that people eat 17.5 grams of fish a day, about a cracker's worth. The proposed standard boosts that to 175 grams a day, just shy of an 8-ounce meal.

The proposal could lower the health risks for those who eat a lot of local fish -- an estimated 100,000 Oregonians, including 20,000 children, according to a committee set up to consider the health effects of the new standard.

But the proposal raises questions about the cost of tougher regulations in a down economy.

"There are potentially a lot of manufacturing jobs being put at risk," said John Ledger, an Associated Oregon Industries vice president.

Janet Gillaspie, executive director of the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies, said the DEQ has underestimated the impact of the changes, including the costs and paperwork necessary to comply with the new rule.

Two years ago, sewage treatment and business groups predicted millions of dollars in costs for industry and potentially billions for sewage treatment plants if they had to install state-of-the-art treatment systems.

But DEQ officials say they've built in a variance to make sure companies can reduce pollution over time at a reasonable cost.

Kathryn VanNatta, governmental affairs manager for the Northwest Pulp and Paper Association, said variances are likely to be hard to get: "Oregon has never issued a variance," she said, "and this proposal does not make a variance any easier."

The variance provision could also be modified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has to approve the new standard, or challenged in court.

Environmental groups say the change is long overdue, but exceptions built into the proposed rules and a lack of focus on pollution from farms, timberlands and urban stormwater mean they might not reduce pollution significantly.

"We can change standards on paper, but how it plays out on the ground and whether we're really ratcheting down pollution is what matters," said Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper's executive director.

The proposal is out for public comment through Feb. 18, with seven hearings scheduled statewide Feb. 1-10. 

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com