Dock workers allege river pollution, ocean dumping

Export companyand port officials say no rules were broken

By Ben Jacklet

The Portland Tribune, Feb 20, 2004, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Several longshoremen say that a company that exports millions of tons of potash and soda ash through Portland has spilled large amounts of soda ash into the Willamette River and sent at least one load of potash to be dumped at sea.

Jerry Cressa, a Portland longshoreman for 26 years, has complained to the Port of Portland and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality about what he described as sloppy loading practices at two docks run by Kinder Morgan Inc.

Cressa also has contacted the Environmental Protection Agency with allegations that 159 tons of potash were poured intentionally onto the deck of a ship instead of into the hold, and taken off to sea to be dumped illegally. Kinder Morgan refutes the allegation.

While soda ash and potash are not considered hazardous pollutants, soda ash is an extremely alkaline substance, and dumping bulk materials at sea is illegal.

Officials from DEQ and the port say Kinder Morgan has complied with its environmental permits. A local environmental group working with Cressa disputes that.

Sebastian Degens, the port’s marine planning and development manager, said he took Cressa’s complaints seriously but found little evidence to support them.

“DEQ has no information that the facility is out of compliance,” Degens said, “and neither do we.”

In a written statement from Kinder Morgan’s headquarters in Houston, Texas, spokesman Larry Pierce described Cressa as a “disgruntled” worker with a “personal vendetta” against the company.

“We believe Mr. Cressa’s allegations are without merit, and we believe that any agencies that choose to research these allegations will agree,” the statement read.

But the executive director of a Portland environmental group planning to sue Kinder Morgan said Cressa’s story was worth pursuing because it had been corroborated by other longshoremen and pointed to numerous violations of the national Clean Water Act.

“Regardless of how Kinder Morgan is trying to put the monkey on somebody else’s back, it’s Kinder Morgan’s problem, and the port’s problem,” said Jane Haley-Harris of the Oregon Center for Environmental Health.

Recently, the center filed notice that it intended to sue Kinder Morgan in 60 days under the Clean Water Act. The notice charges the company with repeatedly violating its water and air permits by allowing alkaline wastewater to flow into the river and failing to clean up spilled soda ash.

Haley-Harris said she hoped legal action would force Kinder Morgan to abide by “best management practices” and pressure the port into keeping a closer eye on its waterfront tenants.

The EPA is looking into the allegation of dumping at sea, but could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

While Kinder Morgan has questioned the validity of the allegations, other longshoremen have backed Cressa’s contentions. Bill McCauley, who retired after working the Portland docks for 43 years, said he and other longshoremen shared Cressa’s concerns, although their union has not gotten involved.

“I always wanted to say something about the operation,” McCauley said. “I regret that I haven’t until now.”

Kinder Morgan runs export operations for soda ash and potash at the port’s marine terminals 4 and 5 in North Portland. The company exported 2.8 million tons of soda ash and 1.5 million tons of potash through Portland last year.

Soda ash, which is processed to make glass, ceramics and detergents, is mined in Wyoming. Potash is harvested in Saskatchewan, Canada, and used as fertilizer. Both materials are shipped to Portland by rail, loaded onto bulk cargo ships and sent to Australia, China and other countries.

Soda ash is similar to baking soda in composition and appearance. It raises the pH of water dramatically, making it difficult for Kinder Morgan to comply with state pH requirements in its stormwater discharges. The chemical name for the potash fertilizer that Kinder Morgan exports is potassium chloride, which is chemically similar to salt.

Watchdog involved

Cressa and McCauley described the loading of soda ash onto a ship as an extremely dusty process. Cressa’s photographs show a large dust cloud around a ship as it is being filled, as well as a chalky white residue on nearby parking lots, docks and beaches.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit