PORTLAND — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced eight new agreements with parties responsible for cleaning up the Portland Harbor Superfund Site on the Willamette River.
The agency said it has now signed cleanup agreements covering more than half of the Superfund site area, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Tuesday. Under the EPA’s cleanup plan, much of the Superfund site will be allowed to recover naturally over time without any active cleanup work.
The agency is now negotiating with individual parties that are responsible for the pollution under a $1 billion plan. The site that runs from downtown Portland north to the Columbia Slough is highly contaminated from more than 100 years of industrial use.
The agency is still negotiating with other parties that have yet to sign agreements. Federal regulators could issue enforcement orders to require cleanup action.