Brownfields Update for the Pacific Northwest

A small city in Oregon is embarking on its third Brownfield redevelopment in 15 years. Independence, Oregon, a town of 8,230 people 12 miles southwest of Salem, has had significant success working with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Brownfields stakeholders to restore three sites to productive use. Each of these – a shuttered, significantly contaminated lumber mill; a closed gas station; and a prior power company property – has found new life and made a positive impact on the economic and civic life of the city.

Mountain Fir Lumber Company operated a lumber and planing mill in Independence from approximately 1966 to 1990. In the early 1990s, it was discovered that pentachlorophenol (PCP) from wood treatment activities had contaminated the soil and groundwater to the extent that a groundwater plume spread blocks from the mill and threatened the city’s water supply. Mill owners cooperated with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), entering into a series of agreements to assess and clean up the site. Over a period of nearly 10 years, contaminated soils were removed and groundwater treatment systems operated until the plume was reduced in size and localized under the mill property. Active remediation ceased in 2006 when it was determined that the contamination had been mitigated to a level that protected the off-site groundwater. Institutional controls, capping and other contingency measures were put in place to manage the residual contamination.

In 1998, while the remediation was being conducted, the DEQ entered into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with a new owner. While the PPA contained certain obligations and conditions related to the use of the property, the new owner was able to maintain a profitable pallet making business at the site from 1991 until closing recently. This redevelopment of the mill site is the first of the three Brownfields success story in Independence and illustrates how the combination of a site owner willing to work closely and cooperatively with the DEQ can create a benefit for the community where many others have suffered from closed mills that have languished for years.

The second major Brownfields redevelopment in Independence was in 2003 with the redevelopment of an old gas station and adjoining commercial property into the new 8,000 square- foot Independence Library. The city received a combination of Brownfields grants and loans totaling $800,000 from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (now Business Oregon) to purchase the property, demolish the old structures, remediate petroleum contamination from past activities and build the library. Similar to their work on the Mountain Fir site, DEQ facilitated the process of redevelopment, assisting with cleanup planning and assuring that contamination was sufficiently mitigated to eliminate any future risk to human health and the environment at the new library.

The city’s most recent Brownfield-related redevelopment was not known to be contaminated at the onset. This is the site of a new 36,500 square-foot civic center to house city administrative offices, the police department, municipal courts and public meeting space. The facility is designed to accommodate projected municipal needs for the next 50 years.

The city had purchased the property from Pacific Power & Light Company and been using it for public works storage. During the pre-construction phase, petroleum-contaminated soil was encountered. The city’s Community Development Director consulted with the DEQ to see what steps the city should take to address the contamination.

DEQ performed the investigation, using funds from its EPA State Response grant. The agency also engaged consultants to evaluate the ecological impact to any endangered species and an archeological specialist from the Grand Ronde tribe to determine if any Native American artifacts were present.

The investigation concluded that contaminants in the soil were below levels requiring remediation but that groundwater contamination remained a problem, with some contaminants exceeding safe drinking water levels. The DEQ restricted current groundwater use and required that a deed restriction preventing its future use be placed on the property. In response, the city will provide municipal water to the new facility. The archeological survey did not reveal the presence of historical artifacts. Presently, construction of the new Civic Center is half completed.

All three of these Brownfield projects in Independence show the value of DEQ’s involvement in facilitating the successful assessment and cleanup of contaminated property. In addition to providing oversight and regulatory approval, DEQ can offer small communities the experience, guidance and oftentimes the funds to overcome obstacles to Brownfields redevelopment.

For more information, contact:

Mike Danko, Community Development Director
City of Independence
503-838-1212
danko.michael@ci.independence.or.us