The chlorine contact chamber at Pendleton’s Wastewater Treatment Resource Recovery Facility operates in sunlight on May 16, 2023. The city is appealing a $21,900 fine issued May 8, 2025, by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for exceeding permitted ammonia and chlorine levels in its wastewater system. (Yasser Marte/East Orgeonian)

PENDLETON — The city of Pendleton is appealing a $21,900 fine from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for exceeding permitted levels of ammonia and chlorine in the city’s wastewater system.

DEQ issued the violation May 8, citing environmental risks associated with the discharge of the two chemicals, both of which can harm sensitive aquatic species, according to the agency’s enforcement records.

DEQ issued nine penalties totaling $808,344 for environmental violations across the state, including a $7,600 fine to Humbert Asphalt Inc. in Milton-Freewater for exceeding permitted emission limits, failing to submit a complete and accurate annual report and failing to perform required burner tuning.

Pendleton Wastewater Superintendent Kyle Willman said the city self-reported the violation, which occurred over a weekend when no staff were on site. Workers discovered the issue the following Monday when they returned.

“In simplest terms, we need enough oxygen in the aeration basin to process ammonia,” Willman said. “A controller monitors instruments that track dissolved oxygen levels. The controller failed in a way that falsely indicated everything was normal, so our SCADA system believed we had enough oxygen—when we actually didn’t.”

City officials submitted supporting documentation to DEQ on June 18 in an effort to challenge portions of the penalty and reduce the total fine.

The city faces three basic options for addressing the fine: pay the amount, contest it in court, or participate in a DEQ program that allows the city to spend an amount equivalent to the fine on environmental projects. This program lets the city direct funds toward initiatives that benefit the environment instead of paying the penalty directly.

DEQ issued civil penalties to several organizations and individuals for violations related to water quality, air quality, stormwater, materials management and underground storage tanks. Fines ranged from $2,700 to $648,500. The violations occurred across the state and involved various regulatory breaches.

Penalties iare for:

• City of Pendleton – $21,900, water quality.
• City of Reedsport – $2,700, water quality.
• Drug Takeback Solutions Foundation (Salem) – $648,500, materials management.
• Gary Fisk and Charles Gibson (Cottage Grove) – $10,682, underground storage tank.
• Humbert Asphalt Inc. (Milton-Freewater) – $7,600, air quality.
• Jopp Energy Co. (Portland) – $65,931, stormwater and air quality.
• Oregon Department of Transportation (Oregon City and West Linn) – $13,150, stormwater.
• T&K Sester Family LLC (Gresham) – $31,431, water quality.
• Willamette Leadership Academy (Eugene) – $6,450, water quality.

Each case includes the opportunity for appeal. DEQ uses a formula to calculate fines, considering the severity of the violation, potential harm to the environment and whether the party self-reported the issue.

Recipients of DEQ civil penalties must either pay the fines to the state treasury or file an appeal within 20 days of receiving notice of the penalty. They may be able to offset a portion of a penalty by funding a supplemental environmental project that improves Oregon’s environment.

Penalties may also include orders requiring specific tasks to prevent ongoing violations or additional environmental harm.

Willman said the wastewater treatment facility has added preventive measures to reduce or eliminate future ammonia and chlorine problems.

“We’re taking a multi-step approach to address these problems,” Willman said. “We’re not trying to tackle them from just one side — we’re approaching them from several angles. We found some deficiencies in our maintenance records, so we’re correcting that with new software. We’ve seen success with the chlorine monitor, so we’re replicating that setup with the ammonia system. And we’re exploring several other options as well.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report used the wrong last name for the Pendleton wastewater superintendent. He is Kyle Willman.