EPA Order Provides Framework for Investigation at US Moorings Site

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an Order to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), to provide a framework for the ongoing environmental investigation at the U.S. Moorings facility, located within the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. The Unilateral Administrative Order was issued Tuesday under Section 3013(a) of the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act.

“This Order assures EPA that the work at U. S. Moorings is consistent with the harbor-wide analysis underway for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site,” said Elin Miller, EPA Regional Administrator in Seattle. “EPA and the Corps are working cooperatively on sampling and work plans for the U.S. Moorings site, and this Order will ensure that there is a process in place to guide decisions and resolve any future disagreements.”

In a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding with EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Corps agreed to enter into a legal agreement with EPA to complete source control work on the property. However, work was delayed until this year due to funding limitations.

Field sampling at the site should be completed by the winter of 2008, which will enable the resulting data to be used for the Portland Harbor Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, currently planned for completion in 2009.

U.S. Moorings is located on the south bank of the Willamette River, approximately 6.2 miles upstream from the Columbia River. Historical activities such as fuel storage, sandblasting and other boat maintenance activities at U.S. Moorings may have resulted in contaminants such as metals, solvents, petroleum by-products and hydro-carbons being released to soil, groundwater and sediments in the harbor.