News Release
| Release Number: | 98-065 |
| Dated: | 8/13/1998 |
| Contact: | Public Affairs Office, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. -- A Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) agreement between the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers means the two agencies will partner to investigate, and if necessary, clean up an old landfill at Bonneville Lock and Dam on the Columbia River 40 miles east of Portland.
The VCP is a DEQ program designed to forge cooperative relationships between DEQ and the responsible landowner or operator, in this case, the Corps. It allows DEQ to dedicate staff to research a specific site and recommend the most responsible and cost effective remediation alternatives to the landowner/ operator.
Work is expected to start next week on a contract issued to Tetra Tech, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., to determine the existence, location and extent of any potentially hazardous materials that may have been placed within the site.
The landfill site on Bradford Island was used by the Corps to dispose of household and project waste materials from 1942 until 1982. The Corps identified the landfill site as an area of concern during a routine internal environmental compliance inspection in 1996. The Corps notified the DEQ. Since then, DEQ and the Corps have worked together to identify the appropriate way to approach the investigation. DEQ concurs with the current investigation plan and agreed to the VCP. This means the Corps will coordinate closely with DEQ during the investigation of the landfill, and also pay DEQ oversight costs.
The contractor has reviewed and evaluated the existing site information: drawings, studies, and records of interviews with former employees. Tetra Tech's investigation plan includes various field activities around and within the site. The contractor will collect sediment samples from the Columbia River adjacent to the former landfill site. Tetra-Tech also will perform a groundwater seep survey on the end of the island where the landfill is located, excavate test pits adjacent to and within the landfill area, collect a variety of soil samples from various locations, and install groundwater monitoring wells. Site work should be completed by mid-September.
Investigators will wear protective equipment during field investigations to prevent worker exposure to any potential contaminants. The site is in a part of Bradford Island that is not open to the public. It is forested and managed as wildlife habitat. There are no visible signs of soil or water contamination.
The investigation will determine the current environmental condition of the site, and whether or not past disposal practices have adversely affected the environment, or pose a threat to the environment or to human health. One concern is migration of contaminants into the sediments or water of the Columbia River. The investigation will provide the Corps with sediment, soil and groundwater quality information beneath and adjacent to the landfill. Remedial actions, if needed, would follow the completion of this investigation.
The landfill was used by Bonneville project personnel from about 1942 through 1982 to dispose of a variety of wastes generated during operation and maintenance of Bonneville project facilities. Interviews with employees who formerly worked on the project indicate a variety of materials may be in the landfill. Materials mentioned include household garbage, petroleum products such as oil and grease from turbines, paint and paint-related wastes such as solvents, insulators, mercury vapor lamps, sealed buckets of grease, blast grit, scrap metal, switch gears and cables. Pesticides were not disposed on the site, but residue may exist from a mixing and rinsing area adjacent to the site. That area also will be investigated. Records indicate the household garbage was burned monthly. The insulators could contain PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). The blast grit and some of the scrap metal disposed in the site are probably contaminated with lead from paint used to coat most materials used on the Bonneville project.