NEDC filed a federal Clean Water Act (CWA) lawsuit today against the City of Cannon Beach, in an effort to protect Cannon Beach residents and visitors from dangerously high levels of bacteria in local creeks and beaches. The lawsuit alleges that the City is regularly discharging pollutants, including bacteria and untreated human waste, to local beaches and the Pacific Ocean.
For years, local nonprofits and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have collected water quality samples at popular recreation locations in Cannon Beach, including outfalls at Gower Street (near Haystack Rock) and at Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site. On numerous occasions over the past several years, polluted effluent discharged from the City’s stormwater outfalls at these locations—which then flows directly onto popular beaches—has contained elevated levels of fecal bacteria E. coli and Enterrococcus. Recent DNA source tracing analysis by both NEDC and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality indicates that while dogs, elk, and other animal life may contribute to the bacteria pollution, much of it is of human origin.
These discharges of bacteria and untreated human waste have for more than a decade caused beach closures during the summer months, putting public health at risk. Residents and visitors often recreate in these waters as they make their way across the beach to the Pacific Ocean.
According to Cannon Beach area resident and NEDC member Michael Manzulli, “In Oregon, the ocean is cold and powerful so our young children play in the coastal streams along the beach that we now know are polluted with human waste and bacteria. City administrators have ignored the problem for too long, and Cannon Beach’s reputation as a pristine family friendly place to visit is at risk; I hope NEDC’s lawsuit will finally compel the City to take urgent action to protect public health.”
The Clean Water Act prohibits cities like Cannon Beach from discharging anything except stormwater runoff from stormwater collection systems. The regular presence of untreated human waste in the City’s discharges to local beaches indicates that these discharges are not composed entirely of stormwater, and are thus unlawful under the Act. NEDC is seeking an order from the Court requiring Cannon Beach to eliminate these unlawful discharges and come into full compliance with the Clean Water Act.
“It’s past time for Cannon Beach to address this issue,” said NEDC Executive Direction Jonah Sandford. “It is essential that the City perform a thorough investigation immediately into how this human waste is making it into the stormwater system and onto local beaches. Putting the City on firm deadlines to perform this investigation will provide will provide real benefits to Cannon Beach residents and everyone else in Oregon who loves these incredible beaches. Ultimately, through this lawsuit we want to to empower the people who work for the City to fully prioritize getting to the bottom of this issue, and to devote resources to solving this problem.”
“The City’s discharges from the Gower Street and Tolovana outfalls are unlawful under the Clean Water Act, which requires that human waste be adequately treated before it is released into public waters,” said attorney Jamie Saul of the Portland-based Wild and Scenic Law Center. “NEDC is prepared to litigate its case in court if necessary, but would prefer to work collaboratively with the City to find a solution to this long-standing public health problem.”
NEDC is represented in this case by Jamie Saul of the Wild and Scenic Law Center, and by Paul Kampmeier and Erica Proulx of Kampmeier and Knutsen, PLLC.