DEQ approves cleanup plan for Eugene rail yard
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has approved a cleanup plan for parts of Union Pacific Railroad’s Eugene Yard.
DEQ issued its Record of Decision earlier this month detailing plans at the site. The cleanup plan calls for worker safety plans and ongoing monitoring to ensure that off-site groundwater contamination does not pose a risk to neighbors.
In the 1990s, investigators found groundwater beneath parts of the site contaminated by solvents from the former locomotive facility. The solvents leaked into the groundwater and the contamination spread off site, beneath parts of the Trainsong and River Road neighborhoods. In the 1990s and 2000s, DEQ and Southern Pacific Railroad (which Union Pacific later purchased) conducted a number of sampling events in and around the rail yard. The investigation also found high concentrations of petroleum in soil and groundwater and metals in soil.
In 2007, vapor barriers were installed in nine homes after investigators discovered that solvent vapors might be entering homes in the Trainsong area. By 2008, solvent vapors in soil had dropped dramatically and DEQ approved removal of the vapor barriers.
From 2005 to 2006, Union Pacific Railroad treated groundwater on site to reduce the amount of contaminated groundwater moving off site. Groundwater monitoring has shown that levels of contamination continue to decline.
DEQ held a public meeting on the proposed Record of Decision last year. Following the comment period, DEQ responded to all comments before preparing the Record of Decision that spells out the cleanup activities Union Pacific Railroad must complete at the site. The company will enter into an agreement with DEQ to complete the remedial design and remedial action implementation.
The Record of Decision and more information on the project’s history are online at http://www.deq.state.or.us/Webdocs/Forms/Output/FPController.ashx?SourceIdType=11&SourceId=312&Screen=Load
Contact
Katherine Benenati, Public Affairs Specialist, Eugene, 541-686-7997, benenati.katherine@deq.state.or.us
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