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By
RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
The
criminal pollution case against David Ryan, owner of Hood River Juice
Company, has been resolved just two weeks before his jury trial was
set to begin. On
Wednesday, Ryan pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. He admitted that
he had failed to file a required report with the Department of
Environmental Quality on In
addition, he acknowledged negligence for failing to prevent an
unpermitted wastewater discharge from the On behalf
of his company, Ryan also pled to a misdemeanor for another
unpermitted discharge on The
agreement reached Sept. 1 between Ryan, the Hood River District
Attorney’s Office and the Oregon Attorney General’s Office requires
that he spend 48 hours in jail or perform 80 hours of community
service. As of
Wednesday, he is under the supervision of Hood River Probation Officer
Bill Nix for the next three years. Ryan has
also been directed to hire a certified operator approved by DEQ to
monitor operations. That individual must also conduct weekly
inspections of the company’s wastewater disposal system. Ryan and
the company must pay a total of $12,500 to the Western States Project.
That organization provides environmental enforcement training to state
and local agencies. Ryan has
agreed to cease operations at the current plant by Dec. 15. He plans
to move into a new facility at the “This is a
good resolution for us,” said Hood River Deputy District Attorney Kate
Stebbins. “It holds
Mr. Ryan and Hood River Juice responsible for their actions and sets
up safeguards for future protection of public resources. At the same
time, it will allow the business to operate down at the port, which is
set up for industrial use.” Stebbins
prosecuted the case with the assistance of Senior Assistant Attorney
General Patrick A. Flanagan, head of the Department of Justice
Environmental Crimes Unit. In
December of 2008, the state arrested Ryan for 16 separate charges tied
to six felony and two misdemeanor acts of pollution. He was
also charged with two felony counts of supplying false information to
a regulatory agent. Ryan’s
attorney, David Angeli, filed numerous motions to get the case against
his client dismissed. The
defense was not successful in convincing Hood River Circuit Court
Judge Paul Crowley to drop the case. However, In a
written statement released Sept. 2, Ryan said errors made in the
operation and management of his plant were “unintentional.” “This has
been a stressful and trying time for me as well as the 110 employees
that call Hood River Juice home,” he wrote. “It is
with great relief then that I announce we have reached a settlement
with the State of “That
settlement reflects one very important fact: HRJC and I never
intentionally released pollution into local waters and never misled
regulators.” Ryan said
he will now “move ahead “aggressively” with plans to relocate his
facility. HRJC
currently processes about 10 million gallons of juice per year at the
At the
present time, Ryan is operating off a land use permit obtained in
1994. That permit allows him to produce juice only from the fruit
grown on his 31-acre property. In 2005, Ryan estimated that 1-2
percent of the fruit he processed came from the farm. In March,
the Hood River County Commission directed Ryan to move his
manufacturing operation to the waterfront by mid-December or ramp down
production to the permitted level.
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