1) Draft Portland Harbor cleanup (June 21)
2) Drinking Water Quality Report
3) Neighborhood Emergency Team meeting (June 13)
4) Comprehensive Plan update
5) Tickets on sale for Tour de Hives (June 25-26)
6) Free fitness programs in Portland Parks
7) North Portland air quality monitoring session (June 20)
1) Draft Portland Harbor cleanup (June 21)
The Environmental Protection Agency this week announced its draft plan to clean up the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, an industrial waterway covering approximately 10 miles of the Lower Willamette River, from Broadway Bridge to the Columbia Slough. EPA proposes to dredge and cap the most contaminated sediment throughout the 10-mile stretch of the Lower Willamette, in areas where concentrations pose the highest risk to people, fish, and wildlife.
Other, less contaminated areas will be monitored and allowed to recover naturally. At the end of construction, EPA estimates that cancer and other serious risks posed by contamination will be greatly reduced – in many places up to 100 times lower than it is now. Natural recovery will further reduce these risks to levels deemed acceptable under Superfund and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality cleanup programs, but will not eliminate all risks. Active cleanup work under the selected Alternative I is estimated to take seven years and cost approximately $750 million.
Release of the proposed cleanup plan starts a 60-day public comment period, which EPA extended from the required 30 days in response to public requests for a longer comment period. The public is encouraged to provide formal comments on the plan to EPA by August 8, either in person at public meetings, online or in writing.
Four public meetings will be held in and around Portland where EPA will explain the Proposed Plan and where public comments will be accepted and recorded. These public meetings are scheduled for the following dates, times and locations:
- Friday, June 24, 11:30-8, City of Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Ave.
- Wednesday, June 29, 11:30-8, EXPO Center, 2060 N Marine Dr.
- Monday, July 11, 11:30-8, University Place Conference Center, 310 SW Lincoln St.
- Wednesday, July 20, 11:30-8, Ambridge Center, 1333 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
EPA will offer two presentations on the proposed plan during each public meeting at noon and 6 p.m.
The Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group also will host a public forum about the plan Tuesday, June 21, 7-9 p.m. at Harriet Tubman School, 2231 N Flint Ave.
2) Drinking Water Quality Report
This week, the Portland Water Bureau published its 2016 Drinking Water Quality Report. As the largest water provider in Oregon, the Water Bureau delivers drinking water to nearly 1 million people in the region.
This federally-required report explains our system in detail, including a system map, notes about water treatment, naturally-occurring elements in our water, water quality measurements like turbidity and lead, and more.
3) Neighborhood Emergency Team meeting (June 13)
Join the Overlook/Humboldt Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) at Lucky Lab on N Killingsworth for the bimonthly meeting. The agenda will focus primarily on three things:
- National Night Out planning (for August 5th or thereabouts),
- Scenario Village trainings; and,
- The calendar for 2016-17
NET meeting
Monday, June 13, 6:30-8 p.m.
Lucky Lab (1700 N Killingsworth St.)
The City of Portland is updating its Comprehensive Plan, a long-range 20-year plan that sets the framework for the physical development of the city. Portland originally developed its Comprehensive Plan in 1980, and periodic updates of the plan are mandated by the State of Oregon.
City Council’s final vote to adopt the 2035 Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, 2-3 p.m.
The North Portland Land Use Group (NPLUG), which is composed of the land use committees of the 11 neighborhood associations in North Portland and the North Portland Chairs Network suggested several amendments to the plan. Council approved most of them. Click here to see the complete list.
5) Tickets on sale for Tour de Hives (June 25-26)
Curious about urban beekeeping? Take the Tour de Hives, a self-guided tour of backyard apiaries and bee trees (new this year) in and around Portland. The event expands to two days this year so that participants can see more. Saturday, June 25 will feature locations in North and Northeast Portland. Sunday will feature location in Southeast Portland. Tickets are on sale now ($10 general admission, $5 seniors and students).
If you would like to “Host” and have your apiary featured as a location on the tour, visit their website.
Tour de Hives
June 25-26, 1-4 p.m. both days
6) Free fitness programs in Portland Parks
Portland Parks & Recreation is launching a free, 12-week outdoor Fitness in the Parks program running from June 13 through Sept. 4. There will be 45 free classes each week in 30 parks throughout the city.
The full schedule can be found on Portland Parks & Recreation’s website.
Registration is free, and is available online in advance or in-person at any of the classes. Participants will only need to register once, and will be given a bracelet that will allow them to drop in to any class all summer long. The program includes family fitness and youth-focused classes in addition to more typical adult fitness classes. A number of PP&R instructors speak Spanish, and upon request will incorporate bilingual instruction into their classes.
Fitness in the Parks is a pilot program, funded through a City of Portland Innovation Fund Grant. PP&R created the endeavor to reduce barriers, build community, and improve the health and well-being of Portlanders.
7) North Portland air quality monitoring session (June 20)
Beginning in 2014, the Legislature funded the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to conduct air quality monitoring in North Portland. The monitoring resources included: meteorology stations to provide information regarding temperature, wind direction and speed; a full spectrum air toxics monitor capable of detecting a wide range of toxic pollutants; and a particulate monitor to detect levels of metals at concentrations above health benchmarks. Data was collected from late 2014 through early 2016, with the goal of providing a year’s worth of air samples and weather information to provide a comprehensive look at air quality in the Swan Island area.
State Rep. Tina Kotek will host a community meeting to discuss the results of the air quality monitoring. A summary of the project results is available online.
North Portland air quality meeting
Monday, June 20, 7 p.m.
Buckley Auditorium, University of Portland