FILE — Quartz Creek pictured May 18, 2026. The Eugene Water and Electric Board and the McKenzie Watershed Council worked together on a restoration project in the area.
Karen Richards / KLCC
The Eugene Water & Electric Board said it’s looking into whether its funds were included in an alleged embezzlement at a nonprofit it collaborated with.
State and federal authorities are investigating whether federal funds were stolen from the McKenzie Watershed Alliance, according to reporting from Eugene Weekly and Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
The Alliance is the fiscal sponsor of the McKenzie Watershed Council, a stewardship organization based in Springfield, and has accepted federal grants on its behalf.
The Alliance’s Executive Director, Jared Weybright, told KLCC that they discovered the financial abnormalities in May.
He said there had been unauthorized payments from the Alliance to the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, potentially totaling more than $1.5 million.
He said the Alliance and Coast Fork took immediate action after the discovery to secure their funding and alert authorities.
“The McKenzie Watershed Alliance employee associated with this matter was first placed on administrative leave and, after further investigation, their employment was terminated,” said Weybright. “We are working closely with legal counsel, our financial institution, and our insurer, to protect the organization and strengthen financial controls and policies.”
Weybright said they’re now cooperating with the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General and the Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section.
EWEB has worked with the McKenzie Watershed Alliance and Council on past watershed restoration work on Quartz Creek.
In a public statement on Monday, utility spokesperson Aaron Orlowski said none of its employees have been implicated in the alleged embezzlement. He said EWEB supports the continued investigation.
“We’re working to understand the extent to which utility funds may have been affected,” said Orlowski. “We are moving deliberately to confirm we have appropriate visibility into fund use, contractural performance, and risk management measures tied to the programs we support.”
An Oregon Department of Justice spokesperson confirmed the matter is being review but told KLCC it could not comment further.
KLCC has reached out to Coast Fork for comment.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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