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The Oregon Department of Justice asked a Multnomah County circuit judge this week to hold a contempt hearing for Moyata Anotta, owner of a North Portland metal scrapyard who the state says has flouted its environmental regulations for years.
Anotta was repeatedly cited for operating his business, NW Metals, without the proper permits. In 2018, a fire at the scrapyard’s former location in the Cully neighborhood temporarily displaced 145 people (“Hot Rods,” WW, July 4, 2018).
The state alleges Anotta is running a metal shredder without a permit, storing solid waste where it’s not allowed, and illegally discharging stormwater. For those violations, the Department of Environmental Quality fined him $357,000 last fall, a penalty Anotta is fighting.
“The people living near his operation deserve clean air, clean water, and a neighbor who follows the rules,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement, “and we are going to use every tool available to make sure that happens.”
Anotta said in a statement to WW he disputes the allegations: “NW Metals has made good-faith efforts to understand and comply with DEQ’s requirements, including repeatedly seeking clarification of the applicable permitting pathway, which remains unclear and disputed. We intend to present the full record to the court and are confident it will show this is not a case of willful noncompliance.”
