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A barge-building company’s 30-acre site along the Willamette River, slightly north of the South Waterfront District, is finally being cleaned up. After years of studies and discussions, crews are continuing to remove contaminants and cap others along a 3,000-linear-foot stretch of riverbank.

Today, a team will update Portland City Council on the project. A tight in-water work window and many permitting requirements challenged the project team, but the in-water work is finished.

鈥淲e’re very happy and relieved to be here,鈥� President Jay Zidell said.

From 1926 to the 1960s, Zidell Marine Corp. performed various types of industrial work on its waterfront site. The company began building barges in 1968, and will continue to do so.

In 1987, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency decided the site needed additional investigation because of its history of use. Over many years, a project was developed through a DEQ voluntary cleanup program. According to DEQ documents, the site was contaminated with metals, diesel, motor oil and lube oil; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and highly toxic polychlorinated biphenyls also were present.

Crews first removed 鈥渉uman health hotspots鈥� and 鈥渆cological hotspots鈥� from the area above the river, project manager Paul Fishman said. This past summer, the project became more complicated.

鈥淭his year from May to November was a much larger project,鈥� Fishman said. 鈥淲e did everything in the river and the riverbank.鈥�

Work in the Willamette River can be performed only during certain 鈥渇ish windows,鈥� to protect habitats. Additionally, the Zidell Marine Corp. team needed more than a year to gain project approval from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Other permits, including one issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act, presented challenges because of scope and complexity, Fishman said.

鈥淎ctual conditions of the river are different in each section of the 3,000 feet,鈥� he said.

Contaminants were handled differently at various points in the river.

鈥淚n some areas we excavated contaminants and graded the bank to a more gentle slope,鈥� Fishman said. Some contaminated sediment was dredged out as well.

In areas where crews didn’t remove contaminants, they 鈥渃apped鈥� the ground with sand and added heavy rock to protect the two-foot sand cap from waves, currents and boats. Other areas received a different kind of cap made of fabric that filters contaminants.

To avoid potential conflicts, the project team coordinated its work with crews constructing the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail bridge, Fishman said.

鈥淒elays of one kind or another were a constant factor, in terms of how to avoid being delayed,鈥� he said. 鈥淭riMet was under the same condition.鈥�

Fishman said crews are working on ground above water to finish cleaning up contaminants. According to Len Bergstein, a consultant working for Zidell Marine Corp., the team now considers the cleanup work 鈥渟ubstantially complete.鈥�

Landscaping and some remediation will continue through next year, Zidell said. The barge builder will then be responsible for maintaining involvement in development over the next five years, to ensure that remaining contaminants aren’t disturbed, DEQ project manager Scott Manzano said.

鈥淏eyond next year we will be planning for the ultimate redevelopment of the property,鈥� Zidell said.

Those plans, announced previously, call for a large, multiuse-type development.

鈥淭o a large degree, the marketplace will drive what people are going to want down here,鈥� he said. In the meantime, he added, 鈥淲e’ll keep building barges as long as we have customers.鈥�