Portland Harbor was added to the EPA National Priorities List in December 2000. The remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) has been underway since 2001. The Site is located along the Willamette River from downtown Portland, Oregon to the Columbia River. Initial study focused on a heavily industrialized 6.2-mile section of river between Swan and Sauvie Islands.
Portland Harbor is contaminated with metals (such as mercury), pesticides, herbicides, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), semi-volatile organics, and dioxin/furans.
The RI/FS is being conducted under EPA oversight, by a group of potentially responsible parties who are referred to as the Lower Willamette Group. Others who are responsible for contamination are being encouraged to join the effort.
EPA is the lead agency for investigating and cleaning up contaminated sediment in the river. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
 is the lead agency for cleaning up upland sites that are sources of contamination to the river. Other state and federal agencies, plus six Indian tribes are also collaborating with EPA to provide oversight and technical expertise for this massive cleanup effort. A community advisory group, organizations and individuals are also working with EPA to make sure the cleanup meets the needs of all of the stakeholders who work, live or play near Portland Harbor.
New and Noteworthy:
EPA Requests Information from Businesses Near the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (PDF) (1 pp. 23K) - January 2008
Draft Treatability Study and Literature Review (PDF) (56 pp. 1.3MB) - October 20, 2007
Cleanup Newsletter (PDF) (8 pp. 176K) - May 2007
The Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group
 meets second Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. at the City BES Water Lab, 6543 N. Burlington Street. For information call Travis Williams at 503-223-6418. View the archive of CAG meeting notes.
You can add your name to the EPA NW Oregon listserv to receive fact sheets and notices about Portland Harbor and other EPA work in the Portland vicinity. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: EPA-NWOregon-subscribe@lists.epa.gov
The Oregon Department of Health Services (DHS) has updated the fish advisories for the Willamette River
 based on samples gathered for the RI/FS.
In addition to the harbor-wide investigation, there are several early actions underway to clean up individual sites that need more immediate attention. EPA currently is working with NW Natural for GASCO, the Port of Portland for Terminal 4, Legacy Site Services for Arkema, and the University of Portland for Triangle Park.
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