Hagens Berman: Oregon Lawsuit Alleging Nitrate-Polluted Groundwater Filed Against Power Company and Dairy Manufacturer

Claims brought against Portland General Electric and Columbia River Processing, subsidiary of Tillamook County Creamery Association on behalf of those affected by alleged nitrate contamination

PENDLETON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oregon residents represented by attorneys at Hagens Berman, Bliven Law Firm and Heenan & Cook today filed a new lawsuit accusing Portland General Electric Company (PGE) and Columbia River Processing LLC, subsidiary of Tillamook County Creamery Association, of contaminating groundwater in northeast Oregon with dangerous levels of nitrates, associated with significant health problems.

The Dec. 5, 2025, lawsuit comes from the same group of attorneys in a similar lawsuit against the Port of Morrow, large commercial farms and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) alleging groundwater contamination in the same region. In that case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Hallman issued a finding recommending that claims under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Oregon law — including claims for negligence, trespass, nuisance and inverse condemnation — be allowed to proceed.

Attorneys estimate the dumping of nitrogen onto land throughout Morrow and Umatilla Counties affects thousands of residents in Oregon’s Lower Umatilla Basin, many of whom are children: “for tens of thousands of people who live in Oregon’s Morrow and Umatilla counties, including Plaintiffs and other Class members, accessing potable water is not so simple because their water is dangerously polluted,” the lawsuit states.

New Defendants Named

The new filing states that PGE and Tillamook’s industrial processes generate hundreds of millions of gallons of high-nitrate wastewater every year.

The lawsuit alleges as rather than properly discarding this wastewater, they send it to the Port of Morrow, a port authority that runs an industrial wastewater treatment and disposal system—even though both defendants know that upon receiving wastewater from PGE and Tillamook, the Port dumps the water, without first removing the nitrates, directly onto land in Oregon’s Morrow and Umatilla counties. The water then percolates down into the Lower Umatilla Basin allegedly causing massive groundwater pollution.

“The private and public wells on which Plaintiffs and Class members rely are all downgradient of the land where the Port dumps PGE and Tillamook wastewater. As such, the nitrates in that wastewater eventually make their way to Plaintiffs’ and Class members’ wells.”

“Water everywhere, and not a drop to drink”

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on behalf of residents of the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area states that the tap water, which comes from private wells, in their homes is so polluted with nitrates that it is unsafe to drink, leaving them unable to drink their own tap water and dependent on bottled water for all drinking, cooking and other household purposes.

While those who have the privilege to use public water that is treated to remove the nitrates are spared the health concerns, the lawsuit states that they face inflated water bills to cover public water departments’ outlays on removing and treating the contaminated water.

“Nitrate pollution in Oregon’s groundwater has left residents in a modern affliction of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ – water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink,” said Steve W. Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman. “We believe Portland General Electric and Tillamook need to do right by their Oregon communities and cease all practices contributing to this contamination.”

The filing states that at high concentrations, nitrates cause cell damage and lead to birth defects and cancer. Also according to the lawsuit, infants are at particular risk from nitrates because they are “susceptible to methemoglobinemia (or ‘Blue Baby Syndrome’), a condition caused by nitrate consumption that prevents blood from carrying oxygen and can be fatal.”

“As stated in our lawsuit, we believe the willful continuation of this contamination of the water in Oregon’s Lower Umatilla Basin to be an environmental and social injustice, which we intend to remedy,” Berman said.

The lawsuit seeks to compel remediation and or to compel PGE and Tillamook to cease their polluting practices under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as well as state law claims. It also seeks damages for private well users who will need to spend an estimated $40,000 to dig deeper to get clean water, as well as damages for those paying higher water bills due to water treatment that the cities must pay for to combat nitrate pollution.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.