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DEQ Fills Up the USTField Toolbox
Area of Focus:
Brownfields
Local Contact
For more information, contact the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Jim Glass at 503.378.8240; or visit www.deq.state.or.us; or contact EPA Region X's Wally Moon at 206.553.6903.
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The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is working with Multnomah, Baker, Umatilla, Jackson, and Lane counties to identify prospective sites where UST contamination is impeding local redevelopment efforts. To spur reuse of UST sites, DEQ is taking creative approaches to working with prospective new site users and communities. Some examples include:
- prospective purchaser agreements (PPAs) to limit purchaser liability;
- institutional controls such as groundwater or property use restrictions;
- concurrent cleanup and redevelopment approaches such as recommended building locations, vapor barriers or sub-slab depressurization; and
- technical assistance and information sharing to help encourage area development and revitalization on a broader scale.
Tools in Action - REACH Community Development
The former gas station at 1949 SE Division Street in Portland will be the new home for up to 15 people with physical disabilities. The property was abandoned by its former owner, and acquired by the county in 1998 through tax foreclosure. While the former owner had the tanks decommissioned by removal in 1994, cleanup done at that time proved inadequate.
Multnomah County, through it's Affordable Housing Development Program, offered the Division Street site to REACH Community Development, Inc., a local non-profit housing development organization. REACH has proposed building a two- to three-story apartment building, with 10 to 15 units for people with physical disabilities. The site is ideal for this purpose as it is located across the street from the Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services and is close to the city center.
The USTfield pilot initiative gave DEQ the funds it needed to carry out an adequate site assessment and prepare the corrective action plan needed to start this project and meet several project challenges. First, the site is located in a heavily residential area, and site cleanup and reuse plans needed to address community health and safety concerns and be sensitive to neighborhood needs. To assess impacts and evaluate exposure concerns, DEQ proposed the use of monitoring wells at the site's periphery. Second, DEQ facilitated the use of USTfield funding for the assessment by selecting a contractor currently engaged by the state to work sites orphaned by former owners. And third, DEQ has worked with the developer to identify building design and construction methods (i.e. engineered controls) and property and groundwater use restrictions (i.e. institutional controls), to manage exposure risks.
A Cornerstone of Community Revitalization - Eagle Point Garage
Eagle Point is a picturesque rural community in southwestern Oregon with a small "downtown" area. The Eagle Point Garage has been a local landmark, service station, and auto repair since the 1930s. The final group of USTs on the property was decommissioned by removal in 1999. Shortly after the decommissioning, the owner of the property passed away, leaving the property to his wife. The property had fallen into disrepair, and the building was soon to be condemned.
The dilapidated appearance of this property and the unknown extent of contamination had become an impediment to the revitalization efforts in the community. In fact, a proposed development on an adjacent property was put on hold by the lender and investors until the Eagle Point Garage structure could be removed and the extent and magnitude of the environmental impacts could be determined. DEQ held several meetings with city officials and the property owner in an attempt to find a solution to this communitywide problem. A member of the regional Governor’s Solutions Team also expressed an interest in seeing this site cleaned up and reused consistent with the city’s comprehensive land use plan.
With the decline of the logging industry, the economic vitality of the city has decreased significantly. As the city struggled to find ways to improve its economic plight and revitalize the community, it became clear that addressing the Eagle Point Garage site was essential to the success of its comprehensive land use plans.
DEQ was able to document the fact that the owner was unable to pay for the investigation and the cleanup of this site. Once the "no ability to pay" determination was made, DEQ was able to utilize USTfields grant funds to assess the nature and extent of contamination on the property and to develop a riskbased corrective action plan for redevelopment of the site. The property owner leveraged private funds to demolish the building. Plans for reuse of the site are now being discussed. One possible reuse scenario is a parking lot for the 6,000-square-foot commercial business project across the street. The city’s recent approval of the adjacent property development is contingent on finding off-street parking. Another benefit gained by the removal of the Eagle Point Garage is that a neighboring building can now be accessed for upgrading.
Updated Date: 08/03/2010
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