Brownfields
Success Story
Going With the Flow to
Prevent Flooding
Tillamook County, Oregon
In Tillamook County and other areas of northern Oregon, timber, dairy
production and outdoor recreational activities like fishing are integral
to the local economy. But these industries and the region's ecological
stability are under constant threat of devastating floods. Major flooding
in: 1996 caused $53 million in damages in Tillamook, the highest
per capita loss in the history of Oregon and equivalent to 148% of the
county's annual budget. Subsequent floods in 1998,1999, 2006 and 2007
prompted state and local officials to create the Southern Flow Corridor
Project, a broad plan to protect flood plain and tidal marsh habitats
through anti-flooding measures.
The Opportunity
The Southern Flow Corridor Project's goal was to restore 522 acres of
tidal marsh habitats by eliminating man-made barriers to floodwaters.
This was accomplished in two ways: removing faulty levees and
excavating soil to allow for a more natural flow.
The project brought together a remarkable number of stakeholders-
more than 100 federal, state and local partners signed on to find ways
to help reduce flooding. Karen Homolac, brownfields specialist for the
Oregon Business Development Department, says this unique dynamic
created synergy.
"I called it 'alphabet soup'," says Flomolac, referring to all the acronyms
on the itinerary at project meetings. "But having such a diverse array of
expertise and funding sources ultimately served the project well."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined the fold after
Tillamook County purchased land with excess soii next to Tillamook Bay
as part of the project. Over time, the site had been home to two former
veneer mills, where workers applied thin slices of wood to flat panels to
create products like doors, cabinets and parquet floors. County officials
suspected that the operation had left the soil contaminated in areas
associated with the former mill buildings.
£EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA Grant Recipient:
Tillamook County, Oregon
EPA Grants:
Brownfields Cleanup Grant
Former Use:
Veneer Mill
Current Use:
Protected Wetlands
A shuttered veneer mill ieft behind high
concentrations of contaminants.
In some areas, workers had to remove
trees to access the contaminated soil.

-------
The soil containment cell helped the project
team avoid making costly trips to the landfill.
The county received $105,974 in state Brownfields Assessment Grant
funding to analyze the site, and their suspicions were confirmed.
About 12,600 cubic yards of soil and groundwater contained heavy oil,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, asbestos and metals like cadmium,
lead and mercury. Years of illegal dumping had resulted in a high volume
of debris on the site, as well.
The Cleanup
Tillamook County received a nearly $700,000 Brownfields Cleanup
Grant—representing a combination of just under $500,000 in state
funding and $200,000 in federal funding—to remediate the area, which
was no easy task. "The veneer mills left quite a footprint," Homolac says.
"The high concentrations of contaminants exceeded the state's criteria
for clean fill, which really limited the county's options for reusing the
material off-site." (Clean fill refers to construction waste materials eligible
for recycling on other projects.)
Still, the cost of hauling away and disposing of the material to a suitable
landfill was prohibitively expensive. Instead, workers placed 11,500 cubic
yards of contaminated material in a containment cell. The 1.5-acre ceil
was capped with clean topsoil and uses a methane ventilation system
to prevent cross-contamination. This helped achieve the Southern
Flow Corridor Project's goal to remove any potential barriers to the
natural flow of floodwaters and saved the project workers from making
approximately 575 landfiii trips. Workers capped any soil they could not
place in the containment cell with topsoil and tree berms, protecting
wildlife from contamination while enhancing their habitat.
The Benefits
The Southern Flow Corridor Project began as a flood-control initiative,
but its benefits extend far beyond that. Reduced flooding helps protect
local industries that rely on the surrounding lands. By avoiding flood
damages, the community will save an estimated $9.2 million over
50 years. Wildlife stands to benefit as well—the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife estimates that the restored wetland will produce an
additional 6,000 to 9,000 adult:coho salmon annually.
In 2017, the project received the prestigious Phoenix Award, which
honors groups and individuals who transform contaminated sites.
"So many people dedicated so much time to seeing this project through,"
says Homolac. "I'm proud EPA's Brownfields Program could be a part of it."
Working on the
Southern Flow
Corridor Project
was incredibly
rewarding. Despite
some short-term
challenges, it was
all worth It in the
long run, because
the entire region
benefits from it.
Karen Homolac,
Brownfields Specialist,
Oregon Business
Development Department
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website
at www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Susan Morales at 206-553-7299 or
Morales.Susan@epa.gov.
EPA S6IKH9-215
November 2019

-------