In December 2015, just two days before Christmas, a wave of greasy putrid sewage flooded into the basement and first floor of a building on Yeon Street in Northwest Portland. the building owner, JBJ Holdings II LLC, sued the city in response, alleging: “Cleanup crews found 95% of the Yeon Building first floor covered in human sewage with some transfer to the second floor.” Nasty.
JBJ demanded $231,690 in damages, according to court documents filed in 2016. The case was eventually dismissed on March 20, 2018 because it was settled out of court. This week, Portland City Council finally handed the company a $80,000 settlement check in response.
The ordinance addressing the payment for damages says that Risk Management Services found that “there is risk the City may be found liable” and advised a compromise to end the lawsuit, resulting in the $80,000 payment.
A third party was also brought in as a defendant in the case: Oregon Oils, a biodiesel recycling company. According to the complaint, its “excessive, unreasonable and unlawful discharge of grease into the City’s sewer system in December 2015” is partially to blame for the failure of the sewage system. Grease causes blockages in the sewer system because fatty substances tend to solidify when they cool and stick to the sides of a pipe. The document, dated April 20, 2017, continues, “ Oregon Oils is primarily at fault, while the City’s fault, if any, is solely passive. Therefore, City is entitled to indemnity from Oregon Oils.”
According to Jen Clodius from the City Office of Management & Finance, Oregon Oils was held accountable for the damages as well. “The City of Portland is contributing $80,000, and Oregon Oils is contributing $145,000,” she wrote in an email.
This isn’t the only lawsuit the city’s facing that involves a sewage-damaged building. Also in December 2016, Melcliff Apartments found raw sewage spraying in the air and flooding a bike room. When it called the city for help, it took city crews 11 hours to respond and fix the leak. The Oregonian cited heavy rains as partially to blame for that disaster, and says the lawsuit seeks $91,000 in damages from the city. But according to the city, sewer system issues and potholes are the most frequently filed tort claim notices.
If Portland’s systems can’t handle rain and biodiesel, we may have a bigger problem on our hands.