91视频

A coalition of activist groups on Friday blasted the Environmental Protection Agency‘s plans to clean up the Portland Harbor Superfund site as woefully inadequate.

鈥淲e’re very disappointed in what came out of EPA,鈥� said Jim Robison, chairman of the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group. 鈥淚t doesn’t get it done right.鈥�

Advocates for the environment, the homeless, an American Indian tribe and other groups pleaded for a more thorough cleanup of the polluted Willamette River as the EPA held a public comment meeting inside the Portland Building.

鈥淲e need more than 8 percent of the river to be clean,鈥� said Ibrahim Mubarak, co-founder of Right 2 Dream Too, a nonprofit.

Critics say the EPA is planning to dredge only 8 percent of the affected stretch of the river.

An EPA spokesman encouraged interested parties, including protesters, to lodge an official public comment.

鈥淲e welcome all perspectives on the cleanup; that’s what public comment is for,鈥� agency spokesman Mark MacIntyre said.

The EPA announced Friday that it would extend the public comment period until Sept. 6, to allow for 90 days of public comment.

The EPA’s preferred cleanup plan would cost $750 million and require approximately seven years. A more extensive cleanup would cost $2 billion and take even longer.

The Portland Harbor Superfund site extends 10 miles from the Broadway Bridge in downtown Portland to the Columbia Slough. The EPA plans to dredge and cap the most polluted sections of sediment. About 1.4 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment would be removed. Otherwise, the federal plan relies on 鈥渘atural recovery鈥� for 1,900 additional acres, according to the EPA.

People who eat fish from the river are most at risk of contaminants, the agency said. Pollutive compounds found include DDT and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

Rose Longoria, regional Superfund cleanup projects coordinator for Yakama Nation Fisheries, advocated for a thorough remediation.

鈥淵akama Nation and all people deserve the right for clean, healthy fish that are safe to eat,鈥� she said. 鈥淎llowing these toxins to remain in the river 鈥� is a violation of human rights and is a violation of treaty rights.鈥�

Friday’s public meeting was the first of four scheduled around Portland. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Portland Expo Center.