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Due to violations of water quality standards committed during road improvements and bridge work along Oregon Route 213 in Mulino, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued fines to Capital Concrete Construction Inc. of Aumsville and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The DEQ announced today that Capital Construction was fined $22,000 and ODOT was penalized $43,500 for erosion and sediment control problems at the Milk Creek Bridge project, which went under construction in January 2010.

On at least five occasions between May 2010 and April 2011, the construction team dumped concrete and other debris into Milk Creek in amounts that exceeded the limits defined in its permit with DEQ. The project team failed to notify DEQ of the releases.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which was performing in-water work on the bridge bents, filed a complaint with the DEQ after a structure collapsed, releasing concrete and other debris into the creek. Another complaint was filed due to erosion taking place on a steep bank, which accounted for $4,500 of ODOT’s total fine.

Turbidity tests revealed that there would be environmental harm in the creek, according to Rodney Weick, water quality permitting manager for the DEQ. Issues could include damage to fish gills, smothered eggs and covered up food sources.

Construction was halted while ODOT revised its plans for wet weather construction and established best management practices to prevent sediment from falling into the creek, but a portion of the site is now open to construction again. Capital Concrete will continue to work on the project, although the rest of the project site will not reopen until the DEQ reviews the final plans.

ODOT responded to the discovery by initiating additional training sessions for its employees around the state. Five sessions on issues of erosion control and settlement issues have been held so far, which brought together 59 ODOT employees, 41 contractors, and 34 representatives from local agencies, according to Don Hamilton, spokesman for ODOT Region 1.

鈥淥DOT failed in its responsibilities to make sure this project was managed properly and effectively,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淪ince this happened, we’ve designed a specific reaction to increase our ability to follow environmental controls and to make sure that the standards set in contracts are put into practice in the field by contractors.鈥�