The Oregonian

Port agrees to begin early cleanup at part of harbor's Superfund site

The Terminal 4 project, starting in 2007, signals the first actual work on massive contamination of the Willamette River

10/07/03

JOE ROJAS-BURKE

The Port of Portland, in a deal with federal regulators, has committed to an early cleanup of one piece of the Portland harbor Superfund site, a witch's brew of poisonous metals, solvents, pesticides and long-lived industrial chemicals stretching several miles along the Willamette River.

Although the Port's Terminal 4 location represents only a fraction of the widespread contamination, the agreement announced Monday sets an important milestone: the first actual cleanup work since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the Portland harbor to the list of Superfund sites in 2000. That has raised hopes other companies will take responsibility for the legacy of dumping hazardous wastes into the river.

In a written statement, John Iani, the EPA regional administrator, called the Port's commitment "an exceptional -- and much appreciated" effort to kick off work in the harbor. "We hope and assume that the Port's willingness to step forward serves as an example for other parties," Iani said.

A citizens group overseeing the cleanup, a panel often critical of the companies responsible for the polluted harbor, also praised the Port's decision.

"I think it's incredibly significant," said Jane Haley-Harris, a member of the Community Advisory Group and executive director of the Oregon Center for Environmental Health.

"We'd like to see other responsible parties doing other hot-spot cleanups," she said. "Some of these highly contaminated sites that are contained and easily identified need to be dealt with quickly."

Dangerously polluted sediments in the harbor stretch from at least the southern tip of Swan Island in North Portland to Sauvie Island, six miles downriver. Pending studies might find the polluted zone to be miles larger, said Chip Humphrey, the EPA project manager.

Industrial practices during a century loaded the river with heavy metals, dioxin, pesticides, hydrocarbons and long-lived polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Some industrial sites along the river also have polluted soil.

To restore the river, much depends on securing money from past polluters and landowners. Although the Superfund program established a trust, it has withered to near nothing since Congress allowed fees charged to industry to lapse in 1995.

For the Portland harbor, the EPA so far has named 69 businesses and government entities as potentially responsible parties. Among them are such big-name corporations as Freightliner, Georgia Pacific, Mobil Oil and Texaco.

Although none of these companies have made formal commitments to the cleanup, 10 others and the Port of Portland have. The 10 companies, known as the Lower Willamette Group, have agreed to pay for a study of the extent of contamination, its sources and ways to deal with it.

Work plan criticized But the Lower Willamette Group hasn't escaped criticism. EPA officials in March said a work plan the companies proposed would leave unanswered critical questions about the nature and extent of contamination, and make it impossible for further work to move forward.

"It's a cheap piece of work at this point," Haley-Harris said. "They just have done a very poor job in terms of a work plan that is going to clean up the harbor."

Rhett Lawrence, who represents the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group on the Community Advisory Group, said the Port's commitment to an early cleanup is welcome but deserves close scrutiny. "We certainly need to make sure the actions being taken are the appropriate ones," Lawrence said.

The new agreement covers the Port's Terminal 4 on the east bank of the Willamette River, north of the St. Johns bridge. Coverage includes river sediments from the ordinary high water line on the northeast bank of the river to the edge of the navigation channel.

Port officials said early studies have identified contaminants in the sediment, including petroleum products, metals, pesticides and PCBs. Under the agreement with EPA, the Port is obligated to begin cleanup by 2007, after completing a detailed study of the pollutants.

Costs an unknown Total costs are unknown, said Anne Summers, project manager for the Port. The agreement gives a tentative figure of $15 million, but Summers said the work could cost more or less, depending on the extent of contamination and the methods applied to deal with it.

"We don't know ultimately what the EPA is going to make us do for the cleanup," Summers said.

To meet the 2007 deadline, Summers said, the Port plans to finish its engineering evaluation and cost analysis, and propose cleanup alternatives, in late 2005.

The EPA will choose the cleanup methods after taking comments from the public, community groups, tribes with treaty rights to fish, fish and wildlife authorities, and others.

Humphrey, the EPA project manager, said the Port's agreement does not exempt it from further liability at Terminal 4 or other sites it owns within the Portland harbor.

Bill Wyatt, the Port's executive director, said his agency is carrying out its obligation to the environment and the community. He said fast-tracking the work also serves the Port.

"This is a working harbor," he said. "It's very important for us to achieve some degree of certainty as quickly as we can." Joe Rojas-Burke: 503-412-7073; joerojas@news.oregonian.com