Portland Harbor Feasibility Study Submitted to EPA

The Lower Willamette Group, composed of a number of public and private parties involved with the Portland Harbor Superfund site,  will submit a report on sediment cleanup options for an 11-mile stretch of the Lower Willamette River to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 30, 2012.

This draft Feasibility Study (FS) is a key step in the Superfund process and is the “toolbox” from which EPA will select the plan for cleaning up sediments within the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. The site includes the Willamette River roughly between Sauvie Island and just north of downtown Portland.

Public information sessions on the FS will be offered starting in mid-April (see below).

Over the coming months, the EPA will review the FS and ultimately make a decision that directs specific clean up actions.

There are many sources of more detailed information about the Portland Harbor Superfund site, including:

  - the EPA website

  - the City of Portland’s website

  - the Lower Willamette Group website

  - the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group website.

Questions about the upcoming information sessions and Portland’s role in the Supefund process may be directed to Ann Beier, Director, City of Portland Office of Healthy Working Rivers (503.823.5463).

Superfund Feasibility Study Public Information Sessions

(from EPA media release)

“The draft Feasibility Study (FS) will be submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review on March 30, 2012.

“The Study will be available for public review on the EPA website (www.epa.gov/region10/portlandharbor) and at the Multnomah County Central Library during the week of April 3.

“The feasibility study (FS) is a comparison of clean-up options to manage contaminated soil and river sediment at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. Under the direction of EPA, a group of potentially responsible parties known as the Lower Willamette Group (LWG) prepared the feasibility study.

“The United States Environmental Protection Agency will hold a series of information sessions to introduce the feasibility study to the public. The purpose of the public information sessions is to discuss the cleanup alternatives described in the feasibility study for Portland Harbor. Information about the site background, how the site may affect the community, next steps for making decisions about the cleanup, and opportunities for public involvement will also be discussed.

“Open houses, with light refreshments provided by the Lower Willamette Group, will be held directly before the public information sessions. Representatives from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Lower Willamette Group, Tribal Governments, Natural Resource Trustees and the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group will be available to talk with the public.

“1st Meeting, Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Open House 5:30 to 6 p.m.)

St John's Community Center, 8427 N. Central St., Portland, Oregon

“2nd Meeting, Thursday, April 12, 2012, 1 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Open House 12:30 to1 p.m.)

Portland Building Auditorium, 1120 SW 5th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Portland, Oregon

“3rd Meeting, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Open House 5:30 to 6 p.m.)

June Key Delta Community Center, 5940 N. Albina Street, Portland, Oregon

“4th Meeting, Thursday, May 10, 2012, 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Open House 5:30 to 6 p.m.)

Ecotrust Building- Billy Frank Jr. Conference Center, 721 NW Ninth Avenue, Portland, Oregon”