HERMISTON — The boards of commissioners for Umatilla and Morrow counties have approved a plan to address the ongoing nitrate issue in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area.

The two boards met Wednesday, March 13, in Hermiston and heard from Morrow County Planning Director Tamra Mabbott and others on recommendations for proceeding with the $1.7 million in funding the counties received from the federal Environmental Protection Agency at the end of last year for a research project.

The funds are for a drinking water investigation, including testing well water and coming up with mid-term and long-term solutions for wells with high levels of nitrate.

Morrow County Commissioner Roy Drago Jr. said he’s hopeful the process will set up the counties to know what solutions will cost so they can begin asking for funding, “because it’s going to be a long process and an expensive process” to take active steps toward solutions.

“I think we’re moving forward,” he said. “I’m hoping the public can see that we are making progress and that it’s also a very complex issue that’s going to take some time.”

Counties select consulting firm

After hearing from three potential contractors since December, a selection committee with various stakeholders and experts chose the consulting firm GSI Water Solutions to win the contract to handle the work.

“Their proposal built in a soft formula to prioritize the percentage of their budget they will allocate for data,” said Mabbott about GSI’s bid. “We’ve done a lot of testing, and so (their proposal would) build in some flexibility so we can reserve funding for solutions and collaboration.”

Additionally, Mabbott said, GSI had a strong understanding of the Umatilla Basin and nitrate issues as well as drinking water issues. The company also is committed to “communicating their findings with the public and various landowners,” she said, which is important to both counties.

Ronan Igloria, a principal water resources consultant, will be the project manager and main point of contact at GSI. He presented an overview of his team’s two-year, four-stage plan.

“We want to highlight the fast pace that we want to proceed with on the project,” he told the commissioners. “The EPA grant is a research grant, so we’re not authorized to do full design on the project. It’s really more of feasibility level work and finding those opportunities for that to move forward.”

The project goals are to improve understanding of the extent of nitrate contamination, engage and educate domestic well users and community members, and develop an action plan to implement public water system connections as well as find alternatives to system connections.

Umatilla Commissioner Dan Dorran was the first — but not the only — commissioner to bring up public opinion. People have grown tired of studies and research and what is sometimes perceived as repeated inaction, he pointed out.

Igloria said because there is a lot of data already available, his team will be able to start right away with getting an understanding of hot spots. Additionally, he said communication with residents will be a central part of their work.

The two-year plan

The first stage will focus on getting a baseline assessment of what information is available and what’s needed.

The second, third and fourth stages — starting in late 2024 and continuing through early 2026 — will consist of testing samples and determining the feasibility of connecting clusters of wells to public water systems, figuring out alternate options for those wells that can’t connect to public systems and developing an action plan for getting residents who are living in the area access to clean groundwater.

“We know that within the LUBGWMA, there’s numerous different problems, they’re not all the same,” Drago said, “so we need to look at these little areas they call the hot spots and come up with solutions for each

of those individually and

get away from the whole LUBGWMA issue.”

GSI’s project team will report to a steering committee of experts from Umatilla and Morrow counties as well as public health, water, environment and chemistry specialists and researchers. The two county boards approved the steering committee during the March 13 joint meeting.

Overlapping the final three stages will help with identifying where further funding is needed to take the next step of implementation. The counties can apply for that funding early enough to avoid gaps in working to solve the nitrate problem.

Thinking long-term

Mabbott announced during the meeting that Morrow County had just been awarded an additional $1.32 million in funding for engineering and design.

“When you’re talking about public water projects, that’s not a lot of money,” she said later. “It feels like a lot of money, particularly for a plan. And it is. And it was very generous. But it’s also why both counties have been prepping for this for the past six or nine months, trying to make sure we understand the extent of our data sets and of the testing data.”

That way, she said, Morrow County is ready to start using the funds as soon as they’re available.

“We just need to keep our eye on the ball and keep moving, and be vigilant so we can make some measurable changes,” Mabbott said.

Drago added it’s also important to take the time to be sure solutions will work scientifically, structurally and socially.

“One thing that we’ve learned from some of the past failures is that if you jump to a solution too soon, you can actually create more problems, and there’s only a limited amount of funding out there,” he said. “We want to be able to use that as appropriately as possible, so we know that we’re putting the money toward a solution that’s actually going to work.”

Drago said he hopes members of the public will come to the various public meetings on this issue to learn more about what groups are doing and to offer input and experiences to committee members so residents’ perspectives are central to solutions.

Overall, the two boards believed the meeting marked a starting point for measurable progress on the issue, which has plagued the counties for decades. Everyone present seemed to believe GSI is ready to get down to work as soon as a contract is signed, which should be at one of the next two Morrow County Board of Commissioners meetings.