Columbia, OR
A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.
Environmental data for Columbia in Oregon · Population: 53,178
Columbia, OR is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 5 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 37 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 43/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.
Industrial disclosures inside the county total 32.5M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 28 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 26 and a peak AQI of 74 in 2024, with 97% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).
All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.
Air Quality History (2020–2024)
EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy (SG) | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 354 (97%) | 10 | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | 329 (90%) | 34 | 2 | 115 |
| 2022 | 293 (81%) | 66 | 1 | 162 |
| 2021 | 319 (92%) | 26 | 0 | 66 |
| 2020 | 332 (91%) | 22 | 1 | 293 |
Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)
For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Oregon, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.
Water Systems (37)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| ST HELENS, CITY OF | 13,410 | 1 |
| SCAPPOOSE, CITY OF | 8,710 | 3 |
| MCNULTY WATER PUD | 2,500 | 3 |
| CLATSKANIE, CITY OF | 2,188 | 0 |
| VERNONIA, CITY OF | 2,100 | 2 |
| WARREN WATER ASSOCIATION | 2,050 | 1 |
| COLUMBIA CITY MUN WATERWORKS | 1,995 | 3 |
| CITY OF RAINIER | 1,932 | 4 |
| WESTPORT WATER ASSOCIATION | 550 | 0 |
| WESTERN HILLS MH ESTATES | 375 | 12 |
| FISHHAWK LAKE RESERVE AND COMMUNITY | 350 | 0 |
| QUINCY WATER ASSOCIATION | 300 | 0 |
| WAUNA WATER DISTRICT | 188 | 0 |
| MIDLAND WATER ASSOCIATION | 160 | 19 |
| SIGLER COVE MARINA | 150 | 2 |
| FISCHERS PLACE MHP | 130 | 10 |
| COLUMBIA ACRES WATER ASSOC | 110 | 5 |
| DEER ISLAND VILLAGE MHP | 100 | 1 |
| LOST CREEK HEIGHTS WTR ASSOC | 100 | 0 |
| WESTPORT HEIGHTS | 90 | 0 |
| DEER VIEW COOPERATIVE | 90 | 0 |
| DEER ISLAND WATERWORKS | 90 | 10 |
| PARADISE MOORAGE | 90 | 1 |
| GOBLE WATER ASSOCIATION | 85 | 1 |
| TAMARACK MOBILE HOME PARK | 80 | 1 |
| WAPATO MOORAGE ASSOCIATION | 74 | 1 |
| PRESCOTT, CITY OF | 70 | 6 |
| LAUREL RIDGE MHP | 70 | 1 |
| MARSHLAND WATER ASSOCIATION | 70 | 14 |
| DEER ISLAND HEIGHTS WS | 60 | 3 |
| CEDAR TREE MOBILE HOME PARK | 50 | 2 |
| J & M MOBILE HOME PARK | 45 | 5 |
| DIKESIDE MOORAGE | 45 | 0 |
| BERNDT CREEK WATER CORP | 45 | 1 |
| CROWN MOBILE HOME PARK | 42 | 1 |
| SWEDETOWN WATER ASSOC | 40 | 2 |
| WESTLAND WATER ASSOCIATION | 25 | 1 |
TRI Facilities (5)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dyno Nobel- St.helens Plant | 32.0M lbs |
| 2 | Pge Beaver Plant & Port Westward Plant | 421.4K lbs |
| 3 | US Gypsum Co | 46 lbs |
| 4 | Conrad Wood Preserving Co | 0 lbs |
| 5 | Columbia Pacific Bio-Refinery | 0 lbs |
Cities in Columbia (2)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Columbia, Oregon? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in Columbia? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in Columbia? ▼
What is the air quality in Columbia? ▼
Is the drinking water safe in Columbia? ▼
What environmental agencies cover Columbia? ▼
What does this county environmental profile show?
This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.