Federal prosecutors say a Troutdale woman is headed to prison for her role in steering roughly 500,000 gallons of industrial wastewater into Hillsboro’s sanitary sewer system, a network designed for household sewage, not chemical soup. The case centers on a slurry and hydro-excavation business that, according to charging documents, funneled corrosive, metal-laden waste into city pipes and tried to keep regulators from catching on. Along with prison time, the sentence includes a criminal fine and years of supervision that federal officials say reflect the public health and infrastructure risks at stake.
According to KPTV, federal prosecutors say Kayla Hartley was sentenced to five months in prison, ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and will serve three years of probation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the sentence after Hartley entered a guilty plea earlier this year.
What prosecutors say
Court filings and a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office state that from February through September 2020, Northwest Slurry Solutions accepted approximately 500,000 gallons of industrial wastewater and discharged it into the Hillsboro sanitary sewer. Prosecutors say the waste contained hydrofluoric acid and heavy metals, including titanium, molybdenum, vanadium and arsenic. Inspectors with Clean Water Services reported that when they visited the facility, Hartley tried to conceal the discharges, according to the same federal filings.
Permits and local oversight
Clean Water Services operates a pretreatment program that requires industrial users to obtain discharge permits, comply with local limits on metals and chemicals, and submit monitoring reports. The agency notes that it can suspend permits or even cut off sewer service when discharges threaten worker safety, treatment operations or the environment, according to Clean Water Services.
Legal consequences and background
A federal grand jury returned an indictment in July 2025 charging Hartley with conspiracy to violate, and with violating, the Clean Water Act. She pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew T. Ho and William M. McLaren, with investigators from the EPA Criminal Investigation Division assisting the probe. The plea carried a statutory maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
What businesses should know
The outcome underscores that unauthorized industrial discharges can trigger criminal as well as civil penalties, and that facilities handling process wastewater must secure proper permits and meet pretreatment standards. Potential industrial dischargers are urged to complete a nondomestic waste survey and coordinate with the utility well before sending process wastewater to the sewer, according to Clean Water Services.
The criminal sentence resolves the federal case against Hartley, but it does not alter the regulatory framework that governs industrial wastewater in Washington County. Regulators and federal investigators still have tools to pursue additional administrative or civil remedies if more violations or harms come to light.
