Oregon DEQ Holding Public Hearing on GP Water Permit

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced it will be holding a public meeting on Feb. 10 to discuss the issuance of a water permit for Georgia-Pacific’s (GP) Toledo, Ore., pulp and paper mill.

Representatives from the DEQ, the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the world’s oceans, GP and Oregon State University will discuss revisions to the GP Toledo facility’s wastewater discharge permit.

The permit sets pollution limits for the discharge of treated wastewater from the facility. A discharge pipe extends 4,000 feet off the shore of Nye Beach and into the Pacific Ocean.

Several groups petitioned the DEQ to reconsider the permit, to which the agency agreed. After additional analysis and stakeholder input, the DEQ revised and reissued the permit in March 2009.

The DEQ will be holding the meeting to discuss changes made to GP’s permit after it was reissued. Representatives from Surfrider and GP as well as an Oregon State University scientist with expertise in the near-shore coastal environment, will answer questions about the revised permit. The meeting will include presentations from each organization, followed by a panel discussion.

The meeting will be held at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.. For more information on the meeting contact Steve Schnurbusch, Water Quality, Salem, at (503) 378-8306.