Oregon
Oregon port temporarily allowed to apply wastewater to fields despite drinking water concerns
FILE Gov. Tina Kotek tours Boardman with local organization Oregon Rural Action on May 3, 2023. The group stops near the Port of Morrow, where a recent leak allowed thousands of gallons of wastewater to contaminate the site.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
Oregon will allow the Port of Morrow to dump nitrate-rich wastewater on agricultural fields in the Lower Umatilla Basin through the end of February — despite a drinking water crisis linked to nitrates in the region’s groundwater.
In a statement announcing her executive order declaring a state of emergency, Gov. Tina Kotek said jobs would be at stake in the basin if the state didn’t take action.
According to a press release, a wet winter combined with anticipated rain and freezing conditions means the port is set to exceed its current storage capacity in February. If that happens, it won’t be able to accept wastewater from food processors and other businesses in the area.
While the executive order will allow the port to disperse wastewater at a time it’s normally prohibited, it also placed limits. The port is allowed to apply wastewater only to fields at “low risk” of contaminating drinking water. The port also agreed to open new lined wastewater storage lagoons that are supposed to prevent future off-season wastewater dumping by Nov. 1, which is ahead of schedule.
“I did not make this decision lightly,” Kotek said. “We must balance protecting thousands of jobs in the region, the national food supply, and domestic well users during this short period of time during an unusually wet winter.”
For three decades, nitrates caused primarily by the agricultural industry have seeped into groundwater and put public health at risk.
“Morrow and Umatilla counties are key to our state’s agricultural production — directly and indirectly employing thousands of Oregonians and feeding not just Oregonians, but families across the globe,” she said. “My office has heard directly from producers and farmers in the Lower Umatilla Basin that pausing operations even for a short time in February would be devastating to the local economy and potentially shut down some operations permanently.”
Groundwater is the primary drinking water source for Morrow and Umatilla County residents. Many in the area who drink out of private wells have tested four to five times higher than the federal government’s limit of 10 milligrams of nitrates per liter, which can cause serious health effects.
Port of Morrow’s East Beach Facility in Boardman, Oregon on April 15, 2022.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
Although studies have shown that the port directly contributed only a small fraction of the region’s groundwater nitrate contamination, the state has fined the industrial hub at least $3.1 million in penalties for violating its permit with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The port eventually committed to invest $500 million to upgrade its wastewater system by the end of 2025 but continued to rack up fines in the meantime. DEQ also modified the port’s permit, limiting wastewater application on agricultural fields during the winter months.
During Kotek’s first visit to the region in May 2023, she stopped short of declaring a public health emergency in the Lower Umatilla Basin, citing she was focused on meeting community needs and making sure resources, like well testing and water deliveries, were available.
At the time, she said she wasn’t given enough information that declaring a public health emergency would “change anything we’re doing.”
For the past three years, local environmental justice organizations and residents have pushed the state, as well as city and county leaders, to do more to address this decades-long issue. Many residents rely on private wells for water, and most those wells are not monitored by the state.
Recently, three state agencies — the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Water Resources Department and the Oregon Health Authority — released a multi-year Nitrate Reduction Plan that outlines short-, medium- and long-term goals on how each agency will work to lower nitrate levels in Eastern Oregon.
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
A 73-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for the 1983 killing of his then-girlfriend. It was a case that went unsolved for more than 40 years.
The sentence was announced by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
In July 1983, Teresa Peroni, 27, was reported missing after attending a party in the Selma area of Josephine County southwest of Grants Pass. She was last seen walking in the woods with her boyfriend Marcus Sanfratello.
Authorities deemed Peroni’s disappearance suspicious, but they lacked evidence to bring charges against anyone.
In 1997, a human skull was found on private property near where Peroni disappeared. In 2024, authorities in Josephine County reopened the case. In addition to re-interviewing witnesses, they collected new DNA evidence to build a case against Sanfratello.
With the DNA, experts at the University of North Texas confirmed the skull was Peroni’s.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man arraigned on murder charge in Oregon for death of then-girlfriend in 1980s cold case
A grand jury indicted Sanfratello of second-degree murder, on June 27, 2025.
Police arrested Sanfratello in Chico, California the next day. He was then extradited to Oregon to face the charge of murder.
Under a plea agreement, Sanfratello pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
He will serve at least 10 years in prison, Oregon’s attorney general’s office said.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Rayfield said in a news release. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed — if someone took a life, we’re going to keep working until we can hold them accountable.”
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