Sean Davis for Astoria

As I speak to people and learn about the town of Astoria, everyone I talk to says some version of the same thing: If I want to be mayor I need to honor the character of Astoria while encouraging responsible economic growth.

I agree. If you asked me my platform in one sentence, that’s it. 

But here is the part we do not talk about enough: sometimes honoring Astoria’s character means updating the old systems that make Astoria work. That includes our wastewater treatment plant.

That is not the most glamorous campaign issue. Nobody runs for office dreaming about wastewater infrastructure, but wastewater capacity is economic capacity. If we want more industrial and commercial jobs in Astoria, if we want our breweries and seafood processors to grow, if we want more living-wage jobs right here in town, then we have to deal honestly with one of the biggest bottlenecks holding that growth back.

Astoria’s wastewater system is old. The city’s own Integrated Plan says the sewer interceptor system and wastewater treatment plant were built in 1974, that the city operates 72 miles of sewer lines, and that the entire system is generally in poor condition due to age. That is not a criticism of our public works staff. I think Jeff Harrington and the Public Works crew deserve a raise. I met with him yesterday morning. They are doing hard work, with half the staff they should have, fighting an aging infrastructure and decades of deferred maintenance. The criticism I have is of the habit many cities have of waiting until a problem becomes expensive before we admit it was a problem.

And this problem is already expensive.

When I spoke with Fort George co-founder Chris Nemlowill, he told me Fort George is trucking roughly 2,000 gallons of wastewater out of town every day. He said they would pay extra to keep from having to do that. He also told me their large main brewery on Marine Drive has been told it can only use roughly the wastewater footprint of a family of four. Think about that. One of Astoria’s largest employers, a successful, nationally distributed business, one that is most closely tied to our city’s identity, is trying to operate a major brewery under wastewater limits built for a household of four.

That is not an economic growth strategy. That is a choke point.

Fort George wants to expand. Other breweries and seafood processors could grow too. These are exactly the kinds of businesses Astoria should want to support: local, rooted, character-building, job-creating businesses that are part of our working waterfront and our community identity. Beer and taking care of the Columbia River are both part of Astoria’s character. This is not a choice between economic growth and environmental responsibility. Done right, this is how we honor both.

The city has already recognized the issue. Astoria’s Integrated Plan says the city created an industrial pretreatment program because the growth of the fermentation beverage industry produced high levels of biochemical oxygen demand, or BODs. All breweries are now under permit, including Fort George, Buoy Beer, and Obelisk, and the city says collaborative work has reduced BOD levels and eliminated threats of permit exceedances from industrial BODs.

That is progress. But it is not enough.

The current wastewater treatment plant headworks project is important. It includes new flow measurement, screening, grit removal, pond baffles, and removal of accumulated solids. The project was originally funded with a $4.86 million from the American Rescue Plan Act or an ARPA grant, but construction costs pushed the total to about $9.8 million, requiring additional grant funds and a loan. That work needs to be completed, but if we want to unlock real economic growth, we need to go further.

Here is the policy path I support:

First, finish the current wastewater treatment plant improvements and make sure they are operating as designed.

Second, fund a true Wastewater Collection System Assessment and Master Plan, including a specific Industrial Wastewater Capacity Study focused on breweries, seafood processors, and future waterfront industries. The city’s own capital plan lists this master plan as a $1.5 million unfunded need.

Third, create an Industrial Wastewater Partnership Program. That means businesses that need more capacity help pay for the capacity they use, while residential ratepayers are protected. High-strength industrial users should pay based on what they actually send into the system: flow, BODs, solids, and treatment difficulty. A gallon of brewery wastewater is not the same as a gallon from someone’s shower, and our rates should reflect that.

Fourth, require strong pretreatment. This is how we protect the Columbia River while creating room for business growth. Breweries and processors should continue using on-site systems, solids capture, pH controls, equalization tanks, metering, and monitoring. That way the city can accept more industrial wastewater without risking permit violations or dumping the cost onto residents.

Fifth, pursue every reasonable funding source available: Oregon DEQ Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans, Business Oregon infrastructure programs, federal water infrastructure dollars, forgivable loan opportunities, system development charges, and public-private cost sharing. Oregon’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund helps communities finance water-quality projects through low-interest loans, while Business Oregon’s Special Public Works Fund supports infrastructure tied to industrial growth, commercial enterprise, and job creation. Business Oregon also has a Water/Wastewater Financing Program for public infrastructure projects that help communities meet drinking water or water-quality requirements, including below-market loans and potential partial grant funding. 

Astoria has spent decades treating wastewater as a regulatory burden. We need to start treating it as an economic development issue too. In this way we have a problem solving a problem. I say all the time that you save so much money spending on prevention as opposed to reactionary spending. 

Every gallon of industrial wastewater trucked out of Astoria represents money leaving town. It represents expansion delayed, jobs not created, wages not paid, and local businesses forced to work around a system that should be helping them succeed. If Fort George, Buoy, our seafood processors, and future waterfront businesses can grow here responsibly, then Astoria grows stronger.

We can protect the Columbia River and support working-class jobs. We can honor Astoria’s history and prepare for its future. Astoria was built by people who worked: on the river, in the canneries, on the docks, in the woods, in small businesses, in breweries, in restaurants, and in shops. If we want that working-town character to survive, we need infrastructure that supports it.