March 11, 2024 – City of Huntington: Facebook Post
Many people have seen the article on ElkHorn Media about the city being fined. The only thing accurate in that article was that the city was fined. At NO time has the city’s wastewater treatment plant leaked sewage into the river. Also, the picture accompanying the article was NOT taken in Huntington. As many know, one of the tanks bowed outwards causing the wheel to slip off the gears, which rendered the tank inoperable, so the plant was down to one tank. It took some time to engineer a fix and implement it. WesTech fixed the problem at their expense, which they didn’t HAVE to do, since the plant was out of warranty. Due to a tank being down, as well as the SCADA computer and personnel shortages, some of the TREATED wastewater that was discharged into the river contained pollutants that exceeded DEQ requirements. There were also required reports that were either missing or submitted late. That is what the city was fined for, and it is currently being appealed.
Again, at no time has the city leaked sewage into the river. The tank has been fixed, the computer is being fixed as we speak, and the city has rebuilt the public works department including hiring a level 2 operator for the treatment plant who has 6 years of experience.
This is only for informational purposes and comments are turned off. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to contact city hall. Thank you.
Edit to add: The article in the Baker City Herald is far more accurate.
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