However, the agency had less success with mill owners, who resisted pollution controls on grounds of the expense.
[3] Of particular concern were sulfite process mills that discharged plumes of waste that were deadly to many aquatic plants and animals.
[2] As late as 1969, low oxygen levels related to pollution were preventing upstream migration of salmon on the Willamette.
The fish were able to continue only after Governor Tom McCall, the OSSA chairman, ordered the temporary closure of four sulfite mills along the river.
[2] In 1969, the Oregon Legislative Assembly replaced OSSA with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).