Oregon Representative District 6 Sal Esquivel

March 16, 2011

 

Sometimes there is talk floating around Salem that flies under the radar. What sometimes seems like a good idea can create unintended consequences. Here's one such situation. The Oregon DEQ is looking to increase the water quality standards in Oregon. It seems like a good idea on the surface but it would be devastating to Oregon, which currently has some of the highest water standards in the world and there is no need to enhance them any more.

We have all heard the saying, "whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting for."  Well, it appears we shall have a battle over water standards that are being proposed by the Oregon DEQ. 

The DEQ is proposing a standard that is ten times more stringent than we currently have as it relates to discharge into streams and rivers. This proposal is so crazy that it would deem water taken from the Rogue River for irrigation purposes not clean enough to return to the river! 

So how were these new proposed standards determined?  The DEQ used a survey completed in the early 90's.  The survey is flawed in many ways and here are some highlights: 

1.      According to DEQ, fish have toxins in them (naturally or otherwise) that when eaten in large quantities are harmful to humans.

2.      The survey says that individuals who consume over 140 pounds of fish per year are in danger. If you consumed ½ a pound of fish per day, you would be eating fish 280 days a year.  When DEQ representatives were asked what effect eating that much fish would have on a human, the DEQ response was that they did not know as there has never been a study on that exact issue.

3.      The Pacific salmon was used in this survey - but should not have been as it is a marine fish, not a freshwater fish. The toxins in Pacific salmon come from the Pacific Ocean and we have no control.

4.      People who did not eat fish were excluded from the survey creating conclusions that is not a true picture of what Oregonians actually consume.

5.      This is a very pointed survey of the Warm Springs and Umatilla Native American Tribes and not the Oregon population as a whole.

In conclusion, the DEQ is using data from a 20-year-old survey containing flaws and is based only on fish consumption of our Native Americans on the Columbia.  The rest of Oregon was not taken into consideration in this survey, but DEQ is proposing strict criteria on the entire state. 

If theses rules are implemented, it would create standards that are so stringent on all Oregon Rivers that it would destroy industry, agriculture and our way of life. Once again, we will make it impossible to create jobs in Oregon.

Oregonians have always maintained some of the cleanest water in the world. Alaska water standards are based on 17.5 grams of fish per day - that is what Oregon's standards are today.  Alaska certainly has more Native Americans than Oregon and they consume more fish in their daily diet. Yet the DEQ is set to increase our water standards to ten times that of the state of Alaska.

We all expect clean water, and in fact, we demand it.  Why is the EPA putting such pressure on the DEQ regarding Oregon water standards?  It is because they know how Oregonians feel about our natural resources and if they can do it to us, then they can then force it on the rest of the country. These are our waterways; the Federal Government is once again interfering in a state's rights. We are already doing a great job of protecting our water.

It is about jobs and farmers and common sense, but soon these too will be endangered species. We have been here before. Remember the spotted owl? First our timber and now jobs and our crops.  As a legislator, I will fight against these new standards.  If there is a health danger, let's get real data and a properly conducted survey, without trying to make the results come out the way the DEQ wanted. It is time to stand up to the DEQ and the EPA until they clean up their standards. In the meantime please enjoy some of the cleanest water in the world, coming from your beautiful rivers and into your tap at home.