Portland Harbor Superfund Site. Jessica Hamilton. October 3, 2013

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1 Portland Harbor Superfund Site Jessica Hamilton General Manager, Harbor Environmental October 3, 2013

2 Port of Portland Facilities

3 Portland Harbor Superfund Site

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6 Portland Harbor Superfund Site Listed in December 2000 Subset of Portland Harbor 10-miles of Willamette River Hundreds of potentially responsible parties Past ten years focused on Study performed by Lower Willamette Group under an Order with EPA LWG: more than $100 million to date; does not include individual company efforts

7 What are the pollution issues in the Harbor? PCBs DDT (pesticides) PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) Dioxin/Furans Two of these chemicals PCBs and DDT are banned today. Other chemicals (e.g. metals) are present in localized areas. Sources industrial, federal wartime shipbuilding and scrapping, shipping, combined sewer overflows, stormwater Primarily legacy contamination 100 years and over 100 Primarily legacy contamination 100 years and over 100 parties

8 Portland Harbor Superfund Site Draft Feasibility Study (FS) - scientific study of sediment contamination in lower 11 miles of Willamette Toolbox" for EPA to select cleanup 11 Alternatives all but no action are effective at reducing risks to humans and environment The difference between the alternatives are the cleanup methods used, the time to complete the in-water work, the impacts to the community and environment, and cost. Construction from 2 28 years, costs from $169 million to $1.8 billion LWG recently received preliminary comments from EPA on the Feasibility Study and are working through them.

9 Surface Sediment PCBs

10 Draft Feasibility Study Alternatives All alternatives reach similar cleanup levels within 30 to 45 years Differences: cleanup trigger levels mix of cleanup methods used how long it takes to do in-water work impacts to the environment during the in-water work impacts to the community during in-water work cost

11 Cleanup Trigger Levels (RALs) Trigger levels are established to determine how much area needs active cleanup Active cleanup is dredging, capping, in-water treatment Example of trigger levels: 1000 parts per billion PCBs = smaller footprint for active cleanup 75 parts per billion PCBs = large footprint of active cleanup

12 Cleanup Methods Dredging Capping Treatment

13 Cleanup Options A = no cleanup required by law to include B through F = range of trigger levels/areas Apply different active cleanup methods to each B through F = 10 active alternatives Integrated (mix of methods that involve significant dredging) Removal focused (mix of methods with more dredging)

14 All Alternatives Include Dredging B 49 Acres B-i: 23 acres or 47% dredged B-r: 42 acres or 85% dredged F 391 Acres F-i: 176 acres or 45% dredgedd d F-r: 304 acres or 78% dredged

15 Alternative B 49 Acres

16 Alternative F 391 Acres

17 Alternatives Development Alternative Total SMA Areas (acres) Total SMA Volume Removed (1000s cy) Estimated Construction Duration (yr) Estimated Net Present Value Cost ($M) Low High A NA 0 NA NA NA B-i to $ 169 $ 250 B-r to $ 228 $ 330 C-i to $ 231 $ 345 C-r to 1,127 7 $ 304 $ 449 D-i to $ 266 $ 398 D-r to 1,321 8 $ 351 $ 520 E-i to 1,362 7 $ 463 $ 709 E-r 191 1,775 to 2, $ 568 $ 884 F-i 391 2,129 to 3, $ 878 $ 1,389 F-r 391 4,195 to 6, $ 1,077 $ 1,762 i = combined dredging capping in situ treatment i = combined dredging, capping, in situ treatment r = dredging emphasis

18 Cleanup Options All alternatives reach similar cleanup levels after years Site-wide average around background levels Cannot cleanup below background levels of contaminants that exist upstream. Differences: how long it takes to do in-water work impacts to the environment during the in-water work impacts to the community during in-water work costs

19 Average Concentration at Year 30 Versus Cost PCB SWAC (ug g/kg) at Year Site-wide sediment PCB concentrations at year 30 for each Alternative (A through F) Integrated Alternatives (blue) perform better in this respect than Removal Alternatives (red) Integrated Alternatives (blue) also cost less Integrated Alternatives Year 30 Removal Focused Alternatives Year ,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 Cost ($M)

20 PCB Sediment Concentration Over Time All Alternatives reach about the same level of cleanup over time (estimated 13 to 18 ppb PCBs at 45 years). Less dredging addresses highest concentration areas in a much shorter time frame. More dredging takes longer, mobilizes contaminants, and can cause contaminant spikes; this impacts rate of recovery and risk over year timeframe.

21 Superfund Cleanup Criteria DRAF FT FS SED ROPOS PLAN PR 2 Threshold Protect human health and the environment Comply with federal and state laws 5 Balancing Long-term effectiveness and permanence Reduce toxicity, mobility or volume through treatment Short-term effectiveness Implementability Cost 2 modifying NState acceptance Community acceptance

22 Alternatives Comparison

23 Next Steps Document Finalization and Proposed Plan BHHRA finalized and approved by EPA in April rd draft BERA submitted, anticipating approval Fall rd draft RI is anticipated to be approved Spring nd draft version of the FS yet to be determined EPA s proposed plan: late 2014 or 2015 EPA ROD:

24 Next Steps Continued Agreements for cleanup implementation Sources controlled Cleanup actions begin Monitoring over many years

25 Questions?