SALEM – Oregon House Bill 3525 passed the House of Representatives last week. The bill would require landlords with domestic wells in groundwater management areas, including the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, to collect and test samples of drinking water for arsenic, coliform bacteria, lead and nitrates, and provide copies of the tests to both the state and to the tenant.
Representatives from both parties spoke in favor of the bill, and its 39-8 passage confirmed its bipartisan support.
“As an assembly we can never, and should never, defend unhealthy drinking water,” said Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner)…