Eastern Oregon residents who have lived with contaminated water for years can move forward with a class action lawsuit against the Port of Moreau and the area’s major food processors, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon issued an order Friday denying a motion by Port of Morrow and five companies seeking to dismiss Pearson v. Port of Morrow. Several Morrow County residents unable to drink nitrate-contaminated water filed a lawsuit in federal district court in February 2024 that could expand into a class-action lawsuit and involve thousands of other area residents. The three-week jury trial is scheduled to begin on May 3, 2027.
The lawsuit names 17 defendants accused of years of contaminating groundwater aquifers with fertilizer-laden wastewater collected from industrial food processors and data centers at the port. The water, touted as a beneficial wastewater reuse program, was pumped and overwatered over area farmland for years, turning it into a hazardous waste dumping project, the plaintiffs alleged.
Powerful ports pollute water for years with little state action
The Port, Lamb Weston, Madison Ranch, Three Mile Canyon Farms, Portland General Electric and Columbia River Processing asked Simon to dismiss the lawsuit. They argued that the suing residents had failed to show widespread harm directly related to their actions or intentional collusion on behalf of the port and its tenants, and that they had exceeded the state’s two-year statute of limitations to sue for negligence.
They also argued that because only one of the plaintiffs had shown a clear link between well contamination and port wastewater, it would be unfair to allow a class action that could potentially bring many additional plaintiffs to the lawsuit. Some of these people may rely on public water rather than wells.
However, Simon found that the plaintiffs “plausibly allege” class action liability for “negligence, trespass, and nuisance” under Oregon law, and that their lawsuit is valid under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which sets federal rules for hazardous waste disposal. He found that because the contamination allegedly damaged the entire water table, not just the well water, and that the water table is a shared public resource, everyone who depends on the water table may be eligible for relief from the judgment in this case.
Lawyers for the Port of Moreau did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling Tuesday afternoon.
Amazon, one of the original defendants, has been working with the plaintiffs since March to reach a $20.5 million settlement, but the company denies allegations that it was involved in contaminating groundwater in the area.
Plaintiffs Michael Pearson, Michael and Virginia Brandt, James Souter and Sylvia Souter sought class action status for the case on behalf of all affected residents who own or rent their homes in Morrow and Umatilla counties, which could potentially bring tens of thousands of other plaintiffs into the lawsuit. Attorney Steve Berman said up to 45,000 residents could join the lawsuit.
“This ruling is an important victory for thousands of residents in Morrow and Umatilla counties who have waited years for safe drinking water and someone to hold them accountable,” Berman said in a statement.
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