For More Information Contact:
Karl Morgenstern, 954-1118 or
Lance Robertson, 984-4716
Eugene Water & Electric Board

Oct. 30 , 2006

Agencies to help farmers dispose of unwanted chemicals

Farmers in the McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette watersheds will be disposing of obsolete chemicals during a collection event organized by nearly a dozen local and state agencies.

The collection event will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lane County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center in Glenwood, 3100 E. 17th Ave.  It is the last and largest of five opportunities for growers and rural landowners to dispose of unwanted or obsolete chemicals.

The collection event is part of an innovative project that unites the Eugene Water & Electric Board, the Springfield Utility Board and other state and local agencies to help growers in the McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette watersheds get rid of obsolete or banned pesticides at no cost or risk to themselves through several collection events.

The first-of-its-kind program is an effort to protect Eugene-Springfield area drinking water and endangered aquatic life from obsolete farm chemicals that are illegal to use and have no reason to remain in the watersheds.

“Our whole approach is to make this collection event as easy as possible for growers to participate so we can remove as many chemicals as possible from these watersheds,” says EWEB Drinking Water Protection Coordinator Karl Morgenstern.

The project is made possible by a grant awarded to EWEB by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. The funds are a portion of the newly created Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment.

EWEB is contributing nearly $24,000 in cash and in-kind assistance. The Springfield Utility Board is donating $10,000, the Department of Environmental Quality is providing $6,000 and Lane County Waste Management will provide in-kind services of $10,000. Other partners in the project are the OSU Extension Service, Oregon Health Division, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Mohawk Valley Fire, Springfield Fire & Life Safety, East Lane Soil and Water Conservation District and the Region 2 HazMat team.