From: AUNAN Lauri * GOV
Sent: Fri Jan 19 12:23:28 2018
To: DECONCINI Nina
Subject: FW: DEQ's failure to adequately manage City of Molalla's lack of wastewater capacity
Importance: Normal
Attachments: BCR OEQC Jan 2018 f.docx; Forwarding FYI Lauri Lauri Aunan Policy Advisor Governor’s Natural Resources Office 503-373-1680 503-400-5426 (cell) From: Susan Hansen [mailto:foxglovefarm@inbox.com] Sent: Friday, January 19, 2018 12:21 PM To: MINER Jason * GOV <Jason.MINER@oregon.gov>; AUNAN Lauri * GOV <Lauri.AUNAN@oregon.gov> Cc: rep.ricklewis@oregonlegislature.gov; wwtp@cityofmolalla.com; grandinetti.robert@epa.gov; WHITMAN Richard <Richard.WHITMAN@state.or.us>; rdavis@oregonian.com; mgarber@commnewspapers.com; kswigart@cityofmolalla.com Subject: DEQ's failure to adequately manage City of Molalla's lack of wastewater capacity Dear Mr. Miner and Ms. Aunan, Please share the attached document with Governor Brown. It is a statement made to the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission regarding Bear Creek Recovery's concerns about lax enforcement by Oregon DEQ and what that lax enforcement means in terms of the environment and our local water quality. Bear Creek Recovery has flagged the City of Molalla's lack of capacity and violations for years and questioned over and over why DEQ has failed to provide binding and timely solutions. Now multiple reports prove there is currently not enough wastewater capacity for the City of Molalla to process the current volume of sewage the city is generating, let alone any expansion of wastewater services. Bear Creek Recovery has read the State Review Framework and totally agrees with the EPA findings that DEQ's wastewater management division needs to be reformed to produce timely and binding results so the kinds of wastewater crises we see currently in Molalla - where a struggling "distressed" city (listed as "distressed" by Business Oregon in 2017, as well as in other recent years) of under 10,000 residents is "suddenly" faced with the need to "find" approx. $32-38 million to fix its wastewater management deficits. What is Governor Brown and your Natural Resources department doing to protect the citizens of Oregon by reforming DEQ practices so that these fiascos don't occur in the future? Sincerely, Susan Hansen Bear Creek Recovery PO Box 50, Molalla Oregon 97038 503-789-7179