The United States Environmental Agency (EPA) has launched informational “ Full Court Press ” to help Portland-Metro communities prepare to comment on the proposed Portland Harbor cleanup plan.
According to EPA, residents of the greater Portland area interested in learning more about the why, when and how, of the approaching Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup will have many opportunities to do just that beginning the first week of February.
The agency’s ambitious schedule of presentations , information sessions and webinars will offer Portlanders – and everyone interested in improving the health of the lower Willamette River – a sense of what intensive research has revealed about what lies on the bottom of this urban, working waterway. People will also learn about how Superfund cleanups are designed, marshalled and paid for.
This spring, EPA will release a Proposed Plan for the cleanup and seek formal public comments for two months. The Proposed Plan will offer a detailed picture of EPA’s preferred cleanup methods for recovering the Lower Willamette. The Record-of-Decision, or final plan, will be released at the end of this year.
When the Proposed Plan is released in the spring, everyone – residents, elected officials, tribes, business and industry leaders and state and local governments – will then have an opportunity to review and provide formal comments on the plan.
During the two-month public comment period, EPA will schedule another series of meetings to describe the cleanup plan and accept public comments. EPA will then consider all comments and prepare the final Record of Decision by the end of 2016.