Woman pleads guilty to dumping 500,000 gallons of wastewater into sewer

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - An Oregon woman entered a guilty plea in federal court for dumping thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater into a sanitary sewer in Hillsboro.

According to prosecutors, 35-year-old Kayla Hartley, director of operations at Northwest Slurry Solutions and Hydro Excavation in Hillsboro, marketed the company’s ability to accept and dispose of industrial wastewater but did not have the required permits or authorization.

Under Hartley’s leadership, an estimated 500,000 gallons of industrial wastewater containing pollutants such as arsenic and hydrofluoric acid were dumped into the Hillsboro sanitary sewer system over several months in 2020.

According to court documents, she tried to conceal the wastewater dumping when staff from Clean Water Services, which operates Hillsboro’s sanitary sewer, visited Northwest Slurry’s facility.

Hartley pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act after being charged in an indictment by a federal grand jury last year.

The 35-year-old faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Hartley’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 12.