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The president of West Eugene polluter J.H. Baxter is asking to postpone her prison sentence after her attorneys unsuccessfully pushed for no time behind bars during the federal case. Meanwhile, the defunct facility still awaits a decision on Superfund site status.
The president of J.H. Baxter — a defunct wood treatment plant in West Eugene — has requested to delay her upcoming prison sentence for environmental crimes.
A federal judge ordered April 22 that Georgia Baxter-Krause serve 90 days in prison and the company to pay $1.5 million in fines for violating the Clean Air Act and hazardous waste laws.
The sentencing came after an Environmental Protection Agency investigation found that company workers boiled 1.7 million gallons of contaminated water, letting toxic waste steam into the air. They did this on at least 136 different days, without a permit, so they didn’t have to pay to dispose of the water properly, according to the investigation.
Attorneys for Baxter-Krause filed an unopposed motion Monday to delay her scheduled prison report date at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, Washington, from July 17 to Oct. 1. According to the motion, which is not opposed by government attorneys, the delay is needed so Baxter-Krause can support her husband as he recovers from surgery.
Lookout Eugene-Springfield contacted her legal team at Angeli & Calfo LLC for comment, but they did not respond.
Throughout the months-long federal case, Baxter-Krause’s legal team argued for either no incarceration or a probationary sentence, which would have allowed her to serve her punishment under court supervision at home rather than behind bars. They cited her lack of criminal history and argued there was no demonstrable harm to public health.
But for decades, residents of West Eugene, including teachers and families living near the facility, have raised concerns about pollution and children’s health.
Since the early 2000s, community members have contacted local agencies and nonprofits about chemical exposure, and since its operation in 1943, the plant used hazardous substances like creosote and dioxin, which eventually leached into the soil.
Sampling and investigation into illegal activity prompted the recent enforcement actions and also partially spurred a policy proposal from a local environmental nonprofit that would require the city to weigh public health risks when approving new or expanding industrial sites. The Eugene City Council is tentatively scheduled to discuss that proposal during a work session June 18.
So far, the Environmental Protection Agency has spent $11 million on cleanup, with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality contributing another $2.9 million. J.H. Baxter still owes the state more than $375,000 in civil penalties and interest from a 2022 settlement.
Last September, the EPA proposed adding the site to the Superfund program — a designation that would unlock additional federal funding for long-term cleanup. A final decision is expected in the coming months, though it could be delayed by uncertainty surrounding federal programs under the Trump administration.
