Site History: Discharges and releases of oil and numerous hazardous substances from multiple sources have occurred since the early 1900s.

Railroad bridge on the lower Willamette River

Location: The Portland Harbor Superfund site is located along the Willamette River near Portland, Oregon between river mile 2 and river mile 11.  The segment of the river between river mile 3 and river mile 10 is the primary depositional area of the Willamette River system, and contains the highly-industrialized area known as Portland Harbor.  This area serves a commerical shipping industry and contains a multitude of facilities and both private and municipal wastewater outfalls.  Numerous industrial operations have been identified as sources of contamination to Portland Harbor.

Trustees:

• Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
• Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon 
• Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon 
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation 
• Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon 
• Nez Perce Tribe 
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) 
• United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Case status:

• Remedial investigation underway.
• One Non-time Critical Removal Action, or “early action” completed (Northwest Natural/GASCO); one early action in the design phase (Port of Portland Terminal 4); one early action in the engineering evaluation/cost analysis phase (Arkema); remedy for the McCormack and Baxter Creosoting Superfund Site, located within the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, completed.
• Natural Resources Damage Assessment Preassessment Screen completed and adopted by the Trustee Council for approval by authorizing officials.
• The Natural Resource Trustees are developing a draft assessment plan for determining injury to natural resources associated with releases of hazardous substances from lower Willamette River facilities. Public comment on the draft injury assessment plan will be solicited upon its completion at a later date.

Overview: The site includes the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, from downtown Portland to near the Columbia River. Numerous industries, including an oil gasification plant, ship repair facilities, bulk oil storage and transfer facilities, agricultural chemical manufacturing, rail car construction, wood treating facilities, and port facilities operated or continue to operate, along the shore of the river. Beginning in the early 1900s, numerous releases of multiple contaminants occurred. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the site on the National Priorities List in 2000.

The remedial investigation and two early-actions are underway, and one remedy at a previously listed Superfund site have been completed. A PRP group has completed two rounds of data collection and a third round is ongoing. Analyses of these data are underway by EPA and state, Federal, and tribal partners to assess risks to ecological and human receptors, and to determine appropriate cleanup levels and strategies. NOAA, the lead administrative trustee, is coordinating the integration of remedial and injury assessment data collection and analysis efforts and providing significant technical support. For more information on this site, please see the Portland Harbor Watershed Database and Mapping Project.