Portland Harbor Superfund Site Community Resources

Meetings and Comment Opportunities

The draft feasibility study was submitted to EPA for review on March 30. We held a series of public information sessions in April and May to discuss the cleanup alternatives described in the report. The sessions also covered information about site background, how the site may affect the community, next steps for making decisions about the cleanup, and opportunities for public involvement.

• Download presentations from the April 12 information session (links to EPA's file sharing site)
• Download presentation to Community Advisory Group Technical Advisor on May 9 (links to EPA's file sharing site)

Fact Sheets

The following fact sheets contain sitewide information about the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup:

• Proposed Confined Disposal Facility Questions and Answers (PDF) (19 pp, 100K) - January 13, 2013
• Feasibility Study and Sitewide Update (PDF) (4 pp, 600K) - April 2012
• Portland Harbor Sitewide Update (PDF) (3 pp, 99K) - July 2009
• Human Health Risk Assessment Overview (PDF) (2 pp, 28K) - February 2009
• Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (24 pp, 251K) - February 2002

Fact sheets about "early action" cleanup areas for Portland Harbor can be found at:
Arkema | Gasco-Siltronic | Terminal 4 | Triangle Park | U.S. Moorings

Where to Review Documents

Some site documents are available in electronic PDF format on our technical documents page. For CD copies of documents or the administrative record, please contact the following EPA offices:

• EPA Region 10 Oregon Operations Office
  805 SW Broadway St., Suite 500
  Portland, Oregon 97205
  503-326-3250 (please call for an appointment)


• EPA Region 10 Superfund Records Center
  1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, ECL-076
  Seattle, WA 98101
  206-553-4494 (please call for an appointment)

You can also review copies of many technical documents, fact sheets, and other site documents in electronic PDF format at the following location:

• Multnomah County Central Library
  801 SW 10th Avenue, Portland, OR 97205

Community Groups

Community Advisory Group (CAG) - A Superfund Community Advisory Group is made up of members of the community and serves as the focal point for the exchange of information between the community and EPA, state regulatory agencies, and other federal agencies involved in cleanup. Monthly CAG meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. PST.

• Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group is EPA's designated CAG for the Portland Harbor Superfund site. Contact 503-285-4805 for more information.

Who pays for the investigation and cleanup?

EPA's policy is to have the responsible parties pay for cleaning up pollution they created. Responsible parties can be past or present company owners, or land owners that EPA determines played a role in the contamination of the Portland Harbor. Under Superfund law, EPA may negotiate with the responsible parties to get them to pay for the plans and work necessary to clean up the site. If an agreement cannot be reached, EPA may take legal action to force them to clean up the site under EPA supervision. We may also use money from the Superfund Trust Fund to pay for cleanup costs, then attempt to get the money back through future legal action.

Lower Willamette Group

The Lower Willamette Group is a coalition of responsible parties comprised of businesses and public agencies that came forward to participate in the investigation of the Portland Harbor site. The members of the Lower Willamette Group and EPA have a legal agreement called an Administrative Order on Consent, and a Statement of Work which outline (1) how a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study will be prepared, (2) who will perform the work, and (3) how EPA will recover costs incurred by EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

• Administrative Order on Consent - Lower Willamette Group (PDF) (50 pp, 91K)
• Statement of Work - Lower Willamette Group (PDF) (41 pp, 91K)

General Notice Letters - Superfund "General Notice Letters" inform recipients that they are identified as a Potentially Responsible Party and may be liable for cleanup costs at the site.

• Entities that received a General Notice Letter from EPA (PDF) (18 pp, 104K)
• EPA's Small Business Resources Information Sheet (PDF) (2 pp, 234K)
• Learn more about Superfund Notice of Liability letters

Information Collection Requests - We're continuing to send Superfund Information Collection Requests (also called "CERCLA 104e letters") to current and former property owners near the site to help us learn more about known or suspected releases of contamination.

• Entities that received an Information Collection Request from EPA (PDF) (18 pp, 78K)
• Q&A for Portland Harbor area businesses (PDF) (1 pg, 23K)
• Learn more about Superfund Information Collection Requests

Contact Us

General questions:

• Alanna Conley (conley.alanna@epa.gov), Community Involvement Coordinator, 503-326-6831

Technical questions:

• Chip Humphrey (humphrey.chip@epa.gov), Project Manager (Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study), 503-326-2678
• Kristine Koch (koch.kristine@epa.gov), Project Manager (Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study), 206-553-6705
• Sean Sheldrake (sheldrake.sean@epa.gov), Project Manager (Early Actions), 206-553-1220

En Espaņol: Si desea hablar con alguien que habla espaņol, llame a Michael Ortiz (ortiz.michael@epa.gov), 206-553-6234.

Request copies of EPA records: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Region 10 Public Liaison: The Regional Public Liaison is a facilitator between citizens and EPA staff who can help solve problems and communication issues regarding cleanup sites. Contact Suzanne Powers (powers.suzanne@epa.gov) at 360-753-9475.

Environmental Justice - EPA's goal is to provide an environment where all people enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to maintain a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. Contact our environmental justice staff for more information and resources.