Oregon DEQ fines St. Charles more than $13,000 for leak detection of underground fuel tanks in Redmond and testing violations

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued five penalties totaling $105,394 in September for various environmental violations, including more than $13,000 against St. Charles Health System for underground fuel storage tank violations in his hospital in Redmond.

A detailed list of violations and resulting penalties can be found at

The early September violation notice said St. Charles Redmond did not have adequate release detection equipment on the piping of an underground storage tank that holds fuel for emergency generators and boilers, and had failed to conduct required initial and annual testing to carry out.

Antony Vorobyov, spokesman for the DEQ Eastern Region, said the hospital system has not appealed the penalty.

St. Charles provided this statement to NewsChannel 21 on Thursday: “We were confident that we were in compliance with the leak testing requirements that went into effect in 2020 and have not had any leaks or environmental impacts to date. When we were told in 2024 that we were out of compliance. To ensure compliance with the new DEQ testing standards, we began actively working with the DEQ on a solution to ensure we remain compliant moving forward retain.”

Statewide, fines ranged from $4,500 to $51,651. The alleged violations included a wood reprocessor that improperly disposed of hazardous waste, a metal recycler that constructed a solid waste dump without a permit, and a hospital that failed to maintain or test an underground fuel storage tank.

DEQ imposed civil penalties on the following organizations:

• Biggs Service District, Wasco, $4,500, sewer
• City of Monroe, Monroe, $6,300, water quality
• Permapost Products Company Inc., Hillsboro, $51,651, hazardous waste
• Radius Recycling Inc., formerly Schnitzer Steel Co., Portland, $29,580, solid waste
• St. Charles Health System Inc., dba St. Charles Medical Center – Redmond, Redmond, $13,363, underground storage tanks

Recipients of DEQ civil penalties must either pay the fines to the state treasury or file an appeal within 20 days of receiving the penalty notice. They may be able to offset some of the penalty by funding an additional environmental project that will improve Oregon's environment. Find out more about these projects at https://ordeq.org/sep.

Penalties may also include orders requiring specific tasks to prevent continued violations or additional environmental damage.

DEQ works with thousands of organizations and individuals to help them comply with Oregon's air, land and water laws. DEQ uses education, technical assistance, warnings and penalties to change behavior and prevent future violations.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality protects human health and the environment by controlling air and water pollution, reducing the impacts of manufactured products, and cleaning up contaminated properties. DEQ engages the public in decision-making and helps communities solve problems in economically and environmentally sustainable ways.