DEQ slates public comment meeting regarding Blue Heron purchase

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

OREGON CITY – The state Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting regarding the Grand Ronde Tribe’s proposed purchase of the Blue Heron Paper Mill site in Oregon City on Wednesday, July 17.

The meeting, which will include a short presentation about the proposal and the chance to comment in person, will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Museum of the Oregon Territory, 211 Tumwater Drive.

The department is seeking comments on its proposed consent order for a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with the Tribe concerning acquisition of the site.

DEQ enters into such agreements at the request of purchasers to expedite the cleanup of contaminated property and encourage property transactions that would otherwise not likely occur because of liabilities associated with purchasing a contaminated site.

Until its closure in 2011, the 23-acre site was home to flour, saw and woolen mills, tannery operations, foundries, city waterworks and a power plant.

“Numerous environmental investigations performed on the property documented concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, petroleum hydrocarbons and their byproducts, dioxins and metals present in site soil above human screening levels,” states a request for comments released by the department on Monday, July 1.

If the purchase goes through, the Tribe will be liable for initial and continuing obligations.

Initial obligations would include site stabilization, high priority cleanup actions, cleanup of soil through removal or capping, and preparation of a work plan and public outreach.

Continuing obligations would include ongoing cleanup activities as redevelopment occurs, such as abating hazardous building materials, handling contaminated materials properly and providing DEQ staff access to monitor cleanup efforts.

“(The Tribe) plans to redevelop the 23-acre property through place-making and redevelopment into a culturally accountable and economically viable benefit for the region,” the request for comments states, including a Riverwalk that would provide access for the public to view Willamette Falls.

The Tribe will be holding a $17 million supplemental budget hearing during the Wednesday, July 10, Tribal Council meeting regarding its possible purchase of two properties in Clackamas County, including the Blue Heron Paper Mill site.

According to a Scope of Work also released by DEQ on July 1, the Tribe “intends to conduct investigation and remediation utilizing cleanup standards most applicable to the type of development, and in a phased approach over the course of the property’s future redevelopment and reuse.”

High priority remedial actions include cleaning up a waste pile beneath a bleach plant, two catch basins and a leaking underground storage tank.

After signing a consent order with DEQ, the Tribe will have 60 days to prepare an initial summary report, a year to create an “overarching” work plan, 18 months to start work on the high priority remedial actions and two years to start working on other potential remedial actions.

The order of consent lists Tribal Engineering and Public Works Manager Jesse White as the project manager.

After the July 17 public hearing, DEQ will consider public comments before making a final decision as to whether it will enter into a proposed consent order with the Tribe.

For more information regarding the project, visit https://www.deq.state.or.us/Webdocs/Forms/Output/FPController.ashx?SourceId=4811&SourceIdType=11. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact Cheryl Grabham at 503-504-7906.