xvEPA
NORTH PORTLAND BIBLE  COLLEGE
                                                                                              United States
                                                                                              Environmental Protection
                                                                                              Agency
                                                                                               EPA 560-F-12-005
                                                                                                    March 2012
                    Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
                                              Assessment Grant
          A Former Gas Station  Site to be  Reused for Higher Purposes
    ADDRESS:      4939 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217
    PROPERTY SIZE:  0.26 acres
    FORMER USES:  Gas station, used car lot, automotive detailing/painting
    CURRENT USE:  Vacant lot ready for redevelopment; expanded facilities for the North
                Portland Bible College are planned
    EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
PROJECT PARTNERS:
    The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (OR DEQ)   North Portland Bible
    receives EPA assessment funding annually through the Agency's   College, Portland
    State and Tribal Response program; the OR DEQ also received   Development
    a $200,000 Brownfields Petroleum Assessment grant in 2005.    Commission
   PROJECT BACKGROUND:
                                                                      Subsurface soil samples are taken on the former gas station
                                                                                property in October 2005
   From 1934 to  1983, the property had a variety of uses including a gas station, used car lot and and an auto
   detailing and painting facility before becoming vacant in  1983. In 1987, the site's former owners removed two
   6,000-gallon underground storage tanks (USTs). In 1996, the property was purchased by the North Portland
   Bible College (NPBC) for potential  expansion of the college's teaching space and/or student housing. However,
   contamination  uncertainties from the site's former uses hindered any progress. An EPA Brownfields Petroleum
   Assessment Grant awarded to the OR DEQ in 2005 funded a Phase I assessment, and EPA Brownfields
   State and Tribal 128(a) funds awarded that same year enabled more detailed assessments, including tests of
   subsurface soils to a depth of 16 feet. These tests revealed contaminant levels well above safe standards even
   for residential reuse, and OR DEQ  issued a No Further Action determination for the property in April 2006.
   KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
   •  Detailed environmental assessments revealed no significant contamination
   •  Assessment findings led to a No Further Action determination by the Oregon Department of Environmental
      Quality
   •  The property will eventually be  reused by the North Portland Bible College as well as the community
   •  Planned reuses include student  housing and new college facilities, as well as space for community gatherings
   OUTCOME:
   Following assessment results, NPBC received a grant from the Portland Development Commission to conduct
   a feasibility study for the property's reuse. Though fundraising for this project is taking longer than anticipated
   due to the weak economy, the  NPBC plans to use the site in ways that will promote local youth, community
   gatherings, remedial education, and new jobs. The NPBC continues to collaborate with local organizations to
   move this project forward.
   FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields website at www.epa.gov/Region 10/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 10 at (206) 553-1200
   For additional data and geographic information for this and other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA's Cleanups in My Community - http://iaspub.epa.gov/Cleanups/

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