In a decisive move to restore the health of the Columbia Slough, the City of Portland has committed to a $19.5 million settlement, payable over the next three years to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This hefty sum aims to tackle the longstanding issues of stormwater discharges and sediment contamination in the 31-mile chain of waterways, which has been blighted by industrial and agricultural pollutants for over a century.
The unanimous vote by the Portland city councilors to enter into the settlement comes after a public process spearheaded by DEQ in November 2023. DEQ's plan, as reported by OPB, also includes constructing 15 facilities to specifically treat the problematic stormwater runoff. To further ensure that the rehabilitation efforts are thorough, an additional $4 million will be allocated by the city for cleanup projects, which they will oversee during the next 15 years.
As explained by DEQ project manager Sarah Miller in a statement obtained by the Oregon government newsroom, "This up-front funding will help cleanup happen more holistically and move forward in a way that will better support shared remediation goals, protect public resources, and bring the community into the restoration process." The money will finance the design and construction of strategic cleanup actions and one slough-wide sediment and fish tissue sampling event. It will additionally fund the evaluation of all City-owned stormwater basins to safeguard the slough from future pollution.
This comprehensive approach signals a substantial effort to right the wrongs of past environmental neglect. Since 2005, city and DEQ efforts to identify contamination sources traveling through city stormwater systems have culminated into this current settlement agreement. And after the slated 15 years of diligent work, DEQ will then release the city from liability for the historical discharges that have long troubled the slough's ecosystem. According to details released by the Oregon government, citizens will be able to witness transformation in the slough's health and the overall environmental quality of the area.
Moreover, the initiative takes into consideration the community's input and environmental justice opportunities. DEQ and the city have jointly agreed on watershed habitat and health improvement projects, in alignment with public sentiment expressed during the consultation period. The historical pollution in sediment and fish, a lamentable consequence of unregulated development and dumping until the 1970s, is now set to be methodically expunged from the Columbia Slough.
