The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to develop a new schedule for the Terminal 4 contaminated sediment cleanup project that is more closely aligned with the schedule for the overall Portland Harbor cleanup. EPA’s revised T-4 schedule, which was in response to a September 2007 request from the Port, splits the cleanup plan selected by EPA in 2006 into a two-phased approach. This approach allows the Port to keep its commitment to address contaminated sediment at T-4 in a protective, timely, and fiscally responsible manner while making sure the overall project is consistent with harbor-wide cleanup activities. The first phase of the plan will begin in summer 2008.

As background, the EPA and the Port have been working together on the design for the T-4 sediment removal and cleanup plan. The removal action included the construction of a Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) in slip 1 and dredging, capping, and monitored natural recovery in slip 3 and other adjacent areas of T-4. As the project design progressed, the Port found that additional information from studies of the entire Portland Harbor Superfund site was essential for the overall CDF design. That information, originally expected in 2007, would not be available until 2009.

The remedy selected for T-4 by the EPA has not changed, but the timing of different cleanup activities is now aligned with the harbor-wide work. Beginning this summer, the Port will begin implementing phase 1 abatement activities at T-4. The first phase is designed to remove or isolate the highest concentration materials from the site. The second phase of the work is slated to begin following the EPA issuance of the Record of Decision for the Portland Harbor.