Posted on June 14, 2016
Yesterday’s release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Superfund cleanup plan sparked plenty of reaction from local parties
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, for example encouraged residents and businesses to weigh in during the 60-day comment period.
Wyden, like many, wants the work done “as quickly and efficiently as possible. I have long worked with Oregon’s congressional delegation toward realizing this goal so that all of us as Portlanders can safely enjoy every recreational option offered by this urban waterfront.”
But Travis Williams, director of Willamette Riverkeeper, told Oregon Public Broadcasting the work, on one level, won’t be enough to lift existing fish advisories.
For instance, OPB noted, the proposed solution would remove 1.8 million cubic yards of contaminated soil from the river. The most aggressive option would have eliminated 33 million cubic yards.
“It’s just incredibly paltry,” Williams told OPB. “They’re not doing much dredging. They’re still relying on natural recovery far too much. A tremendous amount of contaminated material is still going to be sitting in the river 20 years from now.”
The EPA’s website detailing its proposal went live late yesterday afternoon.
The $750 million proposal calls for:
- The dredging or capping of 291 acres of contaminated sediments and 19,472 lineal feet of contaminated river bank.
- Another 23 years of “monitored natural recovery,” in which more-lightly contaminated sections are flushed away by the river’s natural flows.
- Disposal of dredged sediment “in an on-site confined disposal facility and upland landfills,” according to EPA.
- Seven years of construction in the river.
The EPA’s site includes a variety of documents, including the full record of documents collected over the 16 years since the Willamette Superfund site was established and several fact sheets and studies.
