Portland Harbor Platform
Created with input from the Portland Harbor Community Coalition,
part of the 350PDX Climate Justice Platform 2024
Context
The confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers make Portland an ideal location due to the convenience for trade and commerce. Unfortunately, river health and access for Portland residents has often been de-prioritized in Portland’s history, leading to dangerous levels of toxicity in riparian soil, groundwater, and surface water due to over a century of heavy industry. The Portland Harbor Superfund site is a 10-mile stretch of an extremely polluted section on the east side of the lower Willamette River. There is also a second designated site, McCormick & Baxter Superfund, that is located within the Portland Harbor Superfund but is on a different remediation plan. Due to the pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has marked the area for cleanup and is currently undergoing remediation processes. The City of Portland, as one of the responsible parties in the Superfund, charges Portland water and sewer customers a Portland Harbor Superfund Charge.
The pollution in the river has limited the ability of Indigenous people to practice cultural traditions and fish from the river, activities that are guaranteed as treaty rights. It is dangerous for ecosystem and public health. Any work done to remediate the river directly affects these communities, as well as everyone living in north Portland.
Actions
The ongoing cleanup of the Portland Harbor Superfund site is good not just for the river and the species it supports, but also for local human communities. It is important, however, that as this cleanup happens, City leaders undertake the following actions to ensure an equitable and just process. The plans to clean up and remediate the Portland Harbor Superfund site and other river areas should be done in consultation with Indigenous people and other impacted stakeholders and in ways that promote river and public health.
- Community engagement and transparency around Portland Harbor Superfund remediation, the uses of the Superfund surcharge, and the dangers of living in or near the “blast zone.”
- City Leaders must adequately communicate with the community about the cleanup process and its risks and benefits.
- Transparency about where the Superfund surcharge ratepayer money is going.
- Transparency about the risks of living near the Blast Zone (the .5–1 mile radius around rail lines that is at highest risk in the event of a dangerous train derailment).
- Habitat Restoration: Restart a plan for habitat restoration the City made with Indigenous tribal input; the plan has been archived.
- The City has historically worked with Indigenous tribes to come up with a plan on how to integrate native habitat back into the superfund site. The plan was archived, but must be restarted in order to ensure there are healthy fish for Indigenous communities, as well as an ecosystem to support human and ecological health.
- River Access: Public access to the river, including recreation areas and transit.
- The City must ensure public access to Portland Harbor that is safe for people to use.
- Make public transportation readily available for increased access to these sites.
- Superfund Cleanup: Superfund remediation should include local hiring and good labor standards.
- The City must ensure that during the cleanup, jobs in this sector include good labor standards, including prioritizing hiring people from local communities. Jobs should be family wage, union friendly, and use equitable hiring practices.
- The City must ensure that the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and other toxic industry around Portland Harbor is stopped in its entirety. These industries should not be transferred to other communities, but should shift to practices that do not harm people and ecosystems.
Important Stakeholders
Portland Harbor Community Coalition
Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group
Environmental Protection Agency
Case Studies
EPA: History of Portland Harbor, including social, ecological, and environmental justice stories and information about the Portland Harbor Superfund.
Citations
17.36.050 User Charges, Section C. Portland Harbor Superfund Charge, City Code, City of Portland, https://www.portland.gov/code/17/36/050.
2024 Portland Harbor Superfund Site Updates & Map
“Blast Zone”: see if you live in the potential evacuation area on this interactive map
City of Portland Superfund page
EPA’s explainer, “What is a Superfund?”
McCormick & Baxter Superfund Site, Environmental Protection Agency, https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=1000339
Port of Portland Superfund page
Portland Harbor Superfund Charge, City of Portland, https://www.portland.gov/bes/pay-your-utility-bill/sewer-and-stormwater-rates-and-charges#toc-portland-harbor-superfund-charge
Endorsed by:
Endorsed full Climate Justice Platform:
Laura Streib (D2)
Jonathan Tasini (D2)
Brian Conley (D3)
Chad Lykins (D4)
Moses Ross (D4)
Andra Vltavín (D4)