Hello Folks - 

This morning, Willamette Riverkeeper petitioned the Oregon State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC), to regulate Trash and Debris along the Willamette and its tributaries under the federal Clean Water Act. 

For years now, the amount of trash and debris along the river has only grown across Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Salem, and the Portland Metro area - the sheer volume of material along the riverside is evident. It is also evident in most rural stretches of the river where one can find all manner of human made materials, often plastic, wrapping collections of logs and root wads, or mashed into the gravel bars and river sediments. Literally thousands of pieces of trash can be seen in urban and rural sites along the river. 

Trash and related human created debris and waste impacts water quality, can impact human and ecological health, can cause harm to fish, bird and mammal species, and most certainly contributes to the myriad bits of plastic we now find in our world. 

This effort is about accountability. To date there has not been enough accountability in regard to this issue. Willamette Riverkeeper has led hundreds of cleanup events over the past decade, and while our work has helped to diminish the impact in many areas, it has not solved the problem. Further, during this time, there has been a massive rise in people experiencing houselessness that are living and camping along the river, its tributaries, and local creeks. Too often a camp is vacated, leaving items behind, which are then to be swept downstream when the water rises. 

We’ve called for a greater effort to address this environmental, and humanitarian problem. The reality is that these two things are mixed together, and to date not nearly enough has been done. 

WR seeks to have the State of Oregon develop standards for trash along the riverside, major tributaries, and creeks. A clear standard of ZERO trash, or something close, puts the responsibility on the landowner that is creating the source of the trash. Then, the State of Oregon would in essence create the necessary accountability to truly address this problem. Not taking action would be a violation of the Clean Water Act.