Willamette River Cleanup
It’s Your River. It’s Your Voice. It’s Your Choice.
Contribute to support the work of the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group.
About the Portland Harbor Cleanup Site
The Portland Harbor Site spans 10 miles of the Lower Willamette River. The river sediments, surface water, and the fish that reside in the harbor have high levels of PCBs, PAHs, dioxins/furans, DDT and other pesticides which present an unacceptable risk to people’s health, especially subsistence and tribal fishers, and to the environment.
Under EPA cleanup plan, contaminated sediments at the site will be addressed through dredging, capping, enhanced natural recovery, and monitored natural recovery. Approximately 394 acres of sediment, out of 2,190 total acres in the site, will be actively remediated with dredging and capping, including removal of over three million cubic yards of contaminated sediments. Approximately 1,774 acres of the site with lower contaminant levels are expected to recover naturally over time.
Active cleanup construction work is expected to take about 13 years and cost $1 billion. Following the active cleanup construction phase, EPA expects a 100-fold reduction in contamination-related cancer and other serious risks. The river’s natural recovery process will further reduce these risks.
Willamette Week: A Once-Polluted Stretch of Riverfront Has Been Clean for Nearly 20 Years. Why Is It Still Off-Limits?
Reported in Willamette Week: By Nigel Jaquiss April 10, 2024 at 7:01 am PDT Chasing Ghosts: Outdoor Adventure ADDRESS: 6900 N Edgewater St. YEAR BUILT: The creosote plant operated from 1944 to 1991. SIZE: 41.8 acres (land); 16.4 acres (water) MARKET VALUE: None...
Portland Harbor Community Impacts Mitigation Plan
From US EPA: EPA continues to develop the Community Impacts Mitigation Plan (CIMP) for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. The CIMP is a living document that will serve as a guide and enforcement tool to reduce adverse impacts to the community from Portland Harbor...
Portland Harbor CAG meeting January 10, 2024
CAG Board Members Michael Pouncil, Chair Doug Larson Sarah Taylor In Attendance Madi Novak, Interim Superfund Project Manager Laura Knudsen, EPA Dani Jochums, Triangle Associates Anna Hamilton, Triangle Associates Sarah Greenfield, ODEQ Dawn Sanders, BES...
Oil, Chemical Firms Pay Millions to Fix Portland Harbor
An update as reported in the Environmental News Service 12/31/2023 PORTLAND, Oregon, December 31, 2023 (ENS) – People who eat fish that live year-round in Oregon’s Lower Willamette River are taking a big risk, as these fish contain levels of toxic polychlorinated...
Public Comment Period Extended for Recently Announced Consent Decrees
Thank you Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council for notification: On November 1st, 2023, the Justice Department lodged two proposed consent decrees in federal court among members of the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council (Trustee Council) and...
Please Join Our Portland Harbor CAG at theBraided River Gallery at Lloyd CenterWednesday, November 8, 2023 At 5:00 p.m. Pacific
Please Join Our Portland Harbor CAG at theBraided River Gallery at Lloyd CenterWednesday, November 8, 2023At 5:00 p.m. Pacific**In Person event Only** at 1139 NE Halsey St, Portland OR 97232 *Please note that you will enter the mall on the Barns and Nobel level off...
Responsible Parties Reach Settlement for More Than $33 Million to Restore Natural Resources in Portland Harbor
The agreements, with an estimated restoration value of approximately $33.2 million, require the PRPs to pay cash damages or purchase credits in projects to restore salmon and other natural resources that were lost due to contamination released from the responsible parties’ facilities into the Willamette River.
October 11, 2023 CAG Meeting
Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group October 11, 2023 Meeting Minutes CAG Board Members Michael Pouncil, Chair Doug Larson Sarah Taylor Casimera Tadewaldt Melissa Berry In Attendance Caleb Shaffer, EPA Laura Knudsen, EPA Sarah Greenfield, ODEQ Aaron...
Climate Horrors Party
‘Without water, we have nothing’: Native, Indigenous communities return to North Portland for water ceremony
Portland Harbor Community Coalition coordinated hosting a water ceremony at Cathedral Park. Read about it and enjoy the photos on Oregonlive.com. Water ceremony at Cathedral Park by Portland Harbor Community Coalition 2023 - oregonlive.com 'Without water, we have...
Portland Harbor CAG July 12, 2023 Meeting Notes
PHCAG River Mile 11 East Preferred Alternatives Report (PAR), River Workshop#6, EPA Test Sampling July 12, 2023 CAG Board Members Michael Pouncil, Chair Doug Larson Sarah Taylor Casimera Tadewaldt Melissa Berry Also in Attendance: Anna Hamilton, Triangle...
Letter: Oregon’s fuel on risky riverbanks
Published in The Oregonian, Letters to the Editor, 5/31/2023 Oregonians rely on fuel terminals —with gasoline, diesel and jet fuel — situated on unstable ground along the lower Willamette River banks. Massive spills over 100 million gallons would not only...