PORT NEWS AND NOTES: Funding a Challenge for $30M Cleanup at Former Pope & Talbot Site
November 19, 2024
Sean Clark, Executive Director
One unfortunate result of industrial activity in the 19th and early 20th century is the many brownfields across the United States. Brownfields are defined as abandoned or underused properties where redevelopment is complicated by environmental contamination.
One of these sites is the former Pope & Talbot site in St. Helens located just below Railroad Avenue on the Multnomah Channel. From 1912 to 1960, Pope & Talbot used the site to treat logs with creosote, which can still be detected in the soil today. The Port of Columbia County bought the site in 1963 after Pope & Talbot shut down their operation. After Pope & Talbot went bankrupt in 2008, the Port became responsible for the cleanup as the landowner.
The Port and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have been investigating the 42-acre site since the 1980s to determine the extent of the contamination and how to best clean it. Residual creosote from former wood treating activity contaminates the site’s soils and pollutes multiple water bodies, including Scappoose Bay, the Multnomah Channel, and Milton Creek.
The Port and DEQ have made significant progress over the past few years. The DEQ released their Record of Decision last year that provides a road map for how to clean up the site. We are now preparing to enter the next phase, which will involve designing and implementing the cleanup. However, the cost to clean and maintain the entire site is roughly $30 million, which exceeds available resources for both DEQ and the Port. Due to the cost, the cleanup will have to take place in phases over several years as funding is available.
The site has been divided into four priority action areas based on the site’s geological and environmental characteristics. Working with DEQ and our consultant, we decided to first prioritize the cleanup of the upland area. The cleanup plan calls for the installation of a four-inch asphalt cap on top of approximately two feet of clean fill. Plans also call for installation of a permeable reactive barrier, like an underground wall, to capture and remove creosote from groundwater before it enters the Multnomah Channel.
The estimated cost to place the cap on the 9-acre upland area is roughly $5 million. The Port recently applied for a $4 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield Cleanup Grant to help with the cost. The DEQ has committed $500,000, and if the grant is funded, the Port will make up the difference. The permeable reactive barrier would be installed later as funding allows.
One plan for reuse of the upland area after the cap is placed is to work with the city of St. Helens’ Parks and Trails Commission to build a proposed trail along Milton Creek. While the final route is to be decided, the proposal envisions a trail that would run along Milton Creek and connect with McCormick Park and the city’s Waterfront Redevelopment Project.
Reuse plans also include industrial development. However, as most of the property is within a flood zone, we expect lighter use versus heavy industrial development. One possibility that is being discussed for the site is a potential solar facility.
We will learn in May of 2025 whether our grant application is selected for funding and if we can begin the cleanup work. Future cleanup funding for the site will continue to be an immense challenge as we work to find additional sources of funding.
