Smith Frozen Foods, the Pendleton-area processing plant owned by U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, has paid a $3,000 fine for discharging wastewater into a nearby creek in late July.
It marks at least the third time since the early 1990s that the company has been fined for polluting Pine Creek, which runs past the plant located a few miles from the city.
The fine is small, but the timing could be a spot of bad news for Smith, who is gearing up for a re-election campaign expected to be among the toughest in the nation.
Smith's spokesman, R.C. Hammond, said the senator had no comment about the fine or its potential impact on the race. The senator has no day-to-day management responsibilities of the plant.
A Department of Environmental Quality official called the spill "fairly minor" and did no obvious damage to the creek or wildlife. "They stopped it and cleaned it up immediately," said Duane Smith, who oversees the DEQ's water quality program in Pendleton.
On July 30, according to a DEQ news release, Smith Frozen Foods told the agency it had discharged around 100 to 200 gallons of corn processing wastewater from the Weston plant into Pine Creek. The spill occurred when workers allowed a clog to develop in a pipe.
As spills go, this sounds neither massive nor especially toxic--but there's no such thing as a good waste dumping violation. And being the third such violation, however minor, it suggests a less-than-dilligent attention span to protecting their nearby waterway. And it makes it harder for Smith to claim enviro bonafides, even when he signs onto decent Democratic legislation in service of that goal. Nice job, Gordo! We'll remember this one next year. Add it to the list...
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