Letter to the editor: Clean up pollution

I, for one, support the Amerities plant. That is, I support it being the best plant it can be, fitted with the most effective scrubbers and filters money can buy. It should be a facility that we’re proud to host in The Dalles, not one that damages our community’s health, quality of life and civic image.

Some people say we should support any company that brings 50 good-paying jobs to the community. I heartily agree — but we shouldn’t trade good air for good jobs. We can have both, if our elected officials get in the game and demand them for us. Amerities’ parent company is a billion-dollar firm.

I’m a long-timer in The Dalles. I don’t smell the plant’s chemicals all that often, but I know many friends and acquaintances who do. Nearly everyone I know who comes into town comments about the stink of the creosote from the plant (though they don’t know that’s what it is).

Other people have already had to move because of the strong odor.

Long-time locals might be used to it, but that’s like having a odiferous kitty litter problem in one’s house and being the last to notice.

Whether one notices it or not, the naphthalene and other chemicals released by Amerities — carcinogens among them — can’t be good for our health. They can’t be improving our town’s reputation or our property values, either.

It’s time our elected officials stop ducking this issue like they have the dangers of the oil trains. We have city councilors, county commissioners, and state and federal representatives. Where’s the leadership, people? Our elected officials should stand up for our community by demanding Amerities (and its patron and landlord, Union Pacific Railroad) do the right thing: Install a modern, comprehensive filtration system on this plant located in the heart of The Dalles.

Demanding top-grade pollution controls will make Amerities the best facility it can be and our community better, too.

Dan Richardson

The Dalles