Sewer beneath Bullseye Glass

When Portland inspectors looked at the sewer beneath Bullseye Glass, they discovered shards of glass. (Courtesy of Bureau of Environmental Services)

Bullseye Glass, the company at the center of air pollution concerns in Southeast Portland, faces a $300 fine from the city of Portland for dumping large shards of glass into city sewers.

Though records show state regulators had been aware of concerns about dumping by Bullseye, they weren't raised until the company's air pollution caused a scare earlier this year.

The illegal dumping apparently took place in April as the company was promising to clean up its air pollution while facing intense scrutiny from state and federal environmental officials.

City inspectors, responding to a citizen complaint in March, found high levels of selenium in the water and sediment in the the sewer where Bullseye's storm water drains. Selenium can be toxic to fish and other aquatic life in high amounts.

Inspectors also found what they described as "large shards of glass" in the sewer. A photo they took shows pieces of colored glass in the sewer system. City workers found a drain on Bullseye's property was the only connection to the place where the shards were found.

City workers cleaned out three storm water catch basins in mid-April, then returned three days later to sample the water. One sample found 818 micrograms of selenium per liter of water, above the 600 micrograms allowed. A few days later, inspectors looked beneath a manhole south of Bullseye and found the glass shards.

An enforcement order says a city dye test confirmed the glass was discovered in a place directly connected to a drain on Bullseye's property.

E-mails obtained through the state's public records law show employees with the state Department of Environmental Quality were aware of allegations the company dumped into the sewer well before the city was notified.

In a Feb. 4 email, Rick Silverman, a state hazardous waste inspector, told a colleague he knew the company had swept metals into the sewer before.

"My brother use[d] to work there, the metals on the floor got washed down into the sewer, I expect it is still the same," Silverman wrote. "We might want to talk with WQ and see about samples for heavy metals on their discharge."

WQ is a reference to the agency's water quality division. Silverman's colleague, Jay Collins, urged him to report it.

The city's reports do not say who notified them. Silverman, who is on long-term leave, could not be reached late Monday. Nina DeConcini, an agency administrator, said she was unfamiliar with the concerns he had raised.

The fine, issued June 10, can be appealed. But the company has told the city it does not intend to appeal, said Linc Mann, a Bureau of Environmental Services spokesman.

Jim Jones, a Bullseye spokesman, declined comment.

In addition to the fine, the city is requiring Bullseye to hire a contractor to clean the sewer system nearby and to install pollution controls to ensure glass and metals are kept out in the future.

The state is also looking closer at Bullseye's storm water, some of which is injected into underground wells. The Department of Environmental Quality sampled a well on Bullseye's property last week to see whether it has been contaminated, DeConcini said, and potentially affected groundwater. Another well had been covered in concrete; the agency plans to order Bullseye to open and test it.

The lab results are expected in mid-July, she said.

-- Rob Davis

rdavis@oregonian.com

503.294.7657