The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has leveled a hefty $1 million civil penalty against Stella-Jones Corp., a wood treating facility in Sheridan, Yamhill County. The fine comes as a consequence of multiple violations tied to water quality, hazardous waste management, and inadequate spill response and cleanup. According to DEQ's official announcement, a significant portion of the penalty, totaling $877,225, stems from the economic benefit Stella-Jones reaped by skirting these elements of environmental regulations.
The infractions cited by the DEQ are not anomalies but rather a pattern observed within the past two years, highlighted by three prior pre-enforcement notices and a corrective action order issued in 2023. "This enforcement not only addresses the company's past violations, but also requires the company to revise its operations plan, conduct additional monitoring, and take other preventative measures to ensure it stays in compliance going forward," Erin Saylor, Interim Manager of DEQ’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement, said in a DEQ statement.
The DEQ's enforcement action spells out 23 individual violations and compels Stella-Jones to make improvements across several key areas. These areas include a more truthful reporting of hazardous waste, the handling and payment of related fees, and the appropriate storage of such waste in dedicated tanks. Furthermore, the wood treater must enhance its monitoring and reporting of certain chemicals, upgrade their stormwater treatment system, and refine their operations to prevent overflows of said treatment system, as per DEQ's detailed Notice of Civil Penalty Assessment and Order.
In parallel to the civil proceedings, Stella-Jones has also faced criminal charges relating to its water quality breaches. The company reached a settlement with the Oregon Department of Justice in late August 2025, pleading guilty to 10 misdemeanor counts of unlawful water pollution concerning violations of its state-issued water quality permit. On a similar note, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered a settlement that includes a $98,000 civil penalty against the company. As these proceedings advance, Stella-Jones now has 20 calendar days from receipt of the DEQ enforcement action to appeal, if it chooses to pursue that route.
