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.
Salmon Habitat, Columbia Slough and NRDA Restoration
Please Join Our Virtual CAG Meeting.Wednesday, February 10 At 6:30 p.m. PacificClick Here For The Zoom Link Hello Everyone, February is here, love is in the air and on the Willamette River, seen by our two friends in the picture above. Interestingly, I was told by...
Notes from January 13 PHCAG meeting
A discussion about the fuel tanks in the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub in Linnton and its relations to risk management within Portland Harbor and the Willamette River. We are revisiting this topic of the CEI risk because of the importance for our community...
Please Join Our Virtual CAG Meeting.
Wednesday January 13th At 6:30 p.m. Pacific
Please Join Our Virtual CAG Meeting.Wednesday January 13th At 6:30 p.m. PacificClick Here For The Zoom Link Happy New Near Everyone, 2021...WOW...it's here! I am hoping that later in this year we can possibly gather as close as the cormorants in the Columbia Sough...
North Portlanders Want a Contaminated Beach Turned Into a Park. Government Officials Propose to Bury the Toxic Waste Onsite.
On sunny days, Michael Pouncil likes to stroll past the warning signs posted along Willamette Cove and tramp through what he hopes will be Portland’s next great waterfront park.
For Pouncil, the 3,000-foot stretch of beach in North Portland, owned by regional government Metro, is an oasis: a place to hike in dense woods or spy on the rafts of aquatic birds bobbing offshore.
RSVP Now! December 16th Virtual EPA Portland Harbor Quarterly Public Forum (with support from DEQ and the CAG)
RSVP: To automatically receive webinar connection information, please submit an RSVP as soon as possible at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7G0TswNBTUudEbTQy3fitA
Where We Live: Portland Harbor Superfund Site
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) —You would never know it from the surface, but underneath the water of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, there’s a huge problem. Twenty years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency designated a ten-mile stretch of the lower Willamette—between the Broadway Bridge and Sauvie Island—as seriously contaminated.
Called the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, it is the biggest of 13 superfund sites in Oregon, and about 1,300 nationwide.
Metro Council Candidates Forum on Environmental Justice and Willamette Cove
Join us next week for a virtual Metro Council Candidates Forum on Environmental Justice and Willamette Cove. Tuesday, September 29th6:30pm - 8:00pm Zoom link information below. To RSVP on Facebook, click here. Add event to calendar To join Zoom meeting, use this link...
September 16th EPA Portland Harbor Public Forum
EPA plans to virtually present on the Cathedral Park area at the Wednesday, September 16th EPA Portland Harbor Public Forum (with support from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group). EPA will plan to cover some...
OPINION: Willamette Cove deserves better
Published in Portland Tribune August 27, 2020, by Barbara Quinn There are compelling reasons to care about the future of Willamette Cove. It is one of the last riverfront parcels on the Willamette's urban stretch. The 27-acre site south of the St. Johns Bridge is...
Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council to host Virtual Public Meeting
The Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council is hosting a webinar to share information and answer questions about the Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment published earlier this month. The webinar will be held on Tuesday September...
Community Involvement, and a Technical Advisor selected
First, the EPA has finalized the update to the Community Involvement Plan (CIP) and CIP Summary for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site.
Second, the Willamette River Advocacy Group (WRAG) is excited to announce an independent technical advisor (Marcus Griswold, PhD) has been selected to provide support to the WRAG for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site under EPA’s Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) program.
Suggestions for public comment on the Willamette Cove Cleanup
Use these notes to inform your own message to DEQ. The public comment period ends August 31st.