By Antonio Sierra | March 7, 2024 | Oregon Public Broadcasting As the state looks to reduce E. coli in Baker County’s Powder River, county officials question DEQ’s data and conclusions. Oregon has measured high levels of fecal bacteria in Baker County’s Powder River for years, and now they’re readying regulations to lower it. But […]
Powder River Clean-Up Plan Runs Into Blowback from Baker County Read More »
By Kendra Chamberlain | Feb. 29, 2024 | Columbia Insight In 2012, President Barack Obama praised a deal the city of Medford had made with the state to pay for shade trees to be planted along the Rogue River in order to offset the impacts of warm water discharges from the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Oregon’s Thermal Trading Program is Popular — It’s Also Expensive and Unproven Read More »
By Nate Humphrey | Jan. 13, 2024 | Bend Bulletin For those of us who have visited the North Umpqua River, it’s not a place you can forget. With cold, crystal-clear water, incredible wildlife, an abundance of native wildflowers and so much more, the North Umpqua’s beauty is unmatched. The North Umpqua and its salmon
Winchester Dam Serves No Purpose for the Fish of the North Umpqua Read More »
By Jim McCarthy | Oct. 30, 2023 | The Osprey At least 550,000 juvenile Pacific lamprey were killed this summer due to the botched repair of Winchester Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River. On October 6th, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) filed a $27.6 million claim for recovery of damages in the
By Alex Baumhardt | Oct. 27, 2023 | Oregon Capital Chronicle The operators of Winchester Dam in Oregon face more than $134,000 in fines for water violations on top of $27.6 million for killing lamprey. The operators of a southern Oregon dam and the company that repaired it face additional fines for violating state permits
By Zach Urness | Oct. 26, 2023 | Salem Statesman Journal The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued fines totaling over $134,000 against the operators of Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River outside Roseburg on Thursday for water quality violations. DEQ fined Winchester Water Control District and TerraFirma Foundation Repair Inc. for discharging concrete
Oregon Fines Winchester Dam Owners $134,000 for Water Quality Violations Read More »
By Taylar Ansures | Oct. 26, 2023 | KOBI News The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued two enforcement orders for the Winchester Water Control District and contractor TerraFirma for violations that happened during Winchester Dam repairs over the summer. According to DEQ, Winchester Water Control District is being fined $106,778 for violating at least
DEQ Fines Winchester Dam Owners for Water Violations from Dam Repair Read More »
By Erik Neumann | Oct. 6, 2023 | Jefferson Public Radio Oregon is suing for more than $27 million in damages from the owners of a private dam near Roseburg after repairs led to a massive fish kill. More than half a million Pacific lamprey died during repairs at the Winchester Dam on the North
State Seeks $27.6 Million from Winchester Dam Owners After Summer Repair Work Read More »
By Jane Vaughan | Sept. 27, 2023 | Jefferson Public Radio Dam repair work on the North Umpqua River in August and early September led to hundreds of thousands of lamprey dying. There are now questions about accountability for the repair work that was done at the Winchester Dam near Roseburg. Representatives from the Oregon
After Fish Kill, a Search for Accountability at Winchester Dam Read More »
By Alex Baumhardt | Sept. 18, 2023 | Oregon Capital Chronicle The 133-year-old Winchester Dam, which essentially provides a private lake for 100 “influential” people near Roseburg, has a history of environmental violations. For two days in early August, a dozen staff from the natural resources department of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe
Conservation Groups Call for End to Aging Umpqua River Dam After Emergency Fish Salvage Read More »
By Rob Davis | Jan. 16, 2022 | The Oregonian When Oregon’s only saltwater lake mysteriously dried up in 2014, turning a vibrant landscape teeming with migratory birds into a desiccated, abandoned salt pan, state environmental regulators mobilized. Lake Abert, a 64-square-mile lake in south central Oregon’s high desert, had gone almost completely dry for
By WaterWatch Staff | Oct. 10, 2021 | Instream Watch of Oregon is challenging state approval of a plan to dampen the water-temperature impact of a $1.3 billion municipal water withdrawal project on the Willamette River. WaterWatch is asking the Multnomah County Circuit Court to overturn or re-evaluate a decision by the Oregon Department of
WaterWatch Challenges Willamette Water Temperature Plan Read More »
By Kelly House | Aug. 26, 2016 | The Oregonian: Draining Oregon Government agencies have spent more than $2.8 million in taxpayer money on this tiny Columbia River tributary since 2004. Workers have planted shade willows on the banks, lined its rocky bottom with logpile hiding places, and fenced off cattle from the sensitive habitat.
