Brownfields
Success Story
EPA Grant Recipient:
Metro — the Regional Government
of Greater Portland
EPA Grant Type:
Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund
Former Uses:
Agricultural, Industrial, Residential
Current Use:
Non-Motorized Boat Launch and
Public Park
Navigating a New River Launch
Hillsboro, Oregon
The Tualatin River and the surrounding valley have long provided for the
residents of greater Portland, Oregon, In the 1850s, produce and grains
grown in the valley were shipped downstream to the city and distributed
through its ports. Today, Oregonians enjoy visiting the river to kayak and
canoe. The Tualatin River also provides drinking water to 360,000 homes
and businesses.
The Tualatin River Water Trail calls for river access points every 5 river
miles, but, until recently, a popular 10-mile section of the river lacked
safe access for paddlers. In 2014, Metro—the regional government of
greater Portland—purchased a 1.6-acre parcel ideally situated halfway
between the two nearest launch sites, Metro works to protect clean
water, restore fish and wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for
people to enioy nature close to home across 17,000 acres of parks, trails
and natural areas. After purchasing the property, staff moved to identify
and remediate contamination on the property to prepare it for safe
public use.
The Site Assessments
The property had been used for many purposes over the years, including
for agriculture in the 1930s and as an assembly and packaging site in the
1970s. It later housed a leather and saddle production business, as well
as trailer and clock repair facilities.
Prior to purchasing the property, Metro obtained liability protection as
a bona fide prospective purchaser through a Phase I Environmental
Site Assessment completed to ASTM International Standard and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Standard for All
Appropriate Inquiries.
When Metro bought the property, it had a 5,400-square-foot, one-story
combined home and machine shop that housed a clock repair business,
a 500-gallon above-ground heating oil tank and a barn. Metro also
discovered discarded concrete rubble, scrap metal and shopping carts
built into an embankment and containers of hazardous substances.
In addition, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments revealed
significant soil contamination on the property.
The property had been used not only
as a farm (with a barn, shown here) but
also for a saddle company, a clock repair
business and a trailer repair facility.
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Workers removed concrete rubble
and hazardous containers from the
property and remediated groundwater
contamination.

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A row of canoes awaited the grand opening of
Farmington Paddle Launch.
Officials were surprised by the extent of the contamination uncovered
during the environmental site assessments. "Metro was committed to
acquiring the land and cleaning up the site because public access
to the Tualatin River had long been of interest to the community,"
said Suzanne Piluso, a parks and nature senior analyst at Metro. "But
it was impossible to know the full extent of the contamination before
we started the work."
The Cleanup
After razing the structures, cleaning the embankment and properly
disposing of the above-ground drums, workers began digging. That's
when they discovered that heating oil from the above-ground tank had
leaked into the soil and groundwater, which required additional testing
and remediation. In cleaning up the site, Metro coordinated with the
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) before hauling
away many tons of contaminated soil and capping the area with clean fill.
The total cleanup cost about $374,000. An EPA Brownfields Revolving
Loan Fund from the Oregon Business Development Department
(Business Oregon) provided $176,000, which was combined with
$198,000 from the Metro natural area bond measure that voters
approved in 2006.
Metro also received a $287,500 grant from the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department (OPRD) to fund new structures on the site, with
additional costs funded through Metro voter investments. Clean Water
Services, a local utility devoted to protecting the Tualatin River, partnered
with Metro to assist with design and planting of stormwater treatment
swales to enhance Tualatin River water quality.
The strong partnerships between Metro, Business Oregon, DEQ, OPRD
and Clean Water Services helped make the cleanup and construction
a success. On May 2, 2017, DEQ issued Metro a certification stating
the property poses no unacceptable risks to human health or the
environment and protecting the owners from liability.
The Benefits
The project took 4 years for assessment, design, permitting and cleanup.
Construction of the boat launch and park took an additional year. Amid
much excitement, the Farmington Paddle Launch grand opening took
place on June 24, 2017.
The launch is now a safe and convenient place for people to access the
river with kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. It features restrooms, bike
racks, picnic tables, trash cans, benches and parking. It's also a popular
spot for bicyclists to park as they begin their journeys through the scenic
countryside. Thousands of native plants were reintroduced to the area
and new trees were planted after invasive species were removed. Plus,
the project completes an important part of the Tualatin River Water Trail
"The water trail gives people greater access to the outdoors," said
Karen Homolac, a brownfields program policy specialist with Business
Oregon. "Most importantly, the launch provides families with safe and
environmentally clean access to the river."
With the help
of an EPA
Brownfields
grant and voter
investments, we
transformed an
environmental
liability into a
community asset. 33
Suzanne Piluso,
Senior Analyst,
Parks and Nature, Metro
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website
at www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Susan Morales at 202-553-7299 or
Morales.Susan@epa.gov.
BPft. I60-R8-174
Deffiiriber 2018

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