City and State Raise Red Flags About Superfund Process
October 10, 2017
On Friday, the State of Oregon and the City of Portland raised a number of concerns about the Superfund process, including the prospect of years of further delay.
In January, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final cleanup plan – or "Record of Decision" – for the Portland Harbor Superfund site. The Record of Decision was a major step forward in the Superfund process, and reflected the input of a diverse group of stakeholders, including federal, state, and local governments, tribes, neighbors, businesses, and the broader community.
EPA is now getting ready to make big decisions about how to proceed with the cleanup, including how to measure the current health of the river so we can evaluate our progress along the way.
The City has learned that a number of private parties have asked the EPA to reconsider fundamental decisions that have already been agreed upon, a process that could delay cleanup work by a decade or more.
Rather than revisiting these decisions, the City is encouraging EPA to uphold the original cleanup plan and move quickly toward implementation.