Merkley pushes Oregon officials to monitor Crook County wells near mine site

Five people, including one U.S. senator, squeezed into a rural farmhouse bathroom near Prineville, Oregon, on a recent Sunday morning.

The group watched intently as the homeowner, Doug Payne, lifted the lid off his toilet tank. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley stooped under the towel rack to get a closer look, then stuck his hand in the tank.

The inky water in the back of the toilet left a black ring on the porcelain as it sloshed, and Merkley’s fingers emerged with dark beads of sediment dripping through them.