Columbia Slough Sediment Project

Environmental Cleanup Site Information Number (ECSI):   1283
County:  Multnomah
City:  Portland
Region: Northwest  

Contact Information

Project Manager:  Jennifer Sutter and Chuck Harman
Phone: 503-229-6148
E-mail:  or

Site Summary

The Columbia Slough is located south and parallel to the Columbia River and consists of approximately 31 miles of water way extending from Fairview Lake on the east side to the Willamette River on the west. Industrial and residential development along the Slough has resulted in the accumulation of a variety of contaminants in Slough sediments, some of which bioaccumulate and have also been found in fish tissue collected from the Slough. In 2005 DEQ issued a Record of Decision establishing a program to cleanup sediments at individual release sites, implement source control measures throughout the watershed to prevent further releases, and monitor conditions over the long term to ensure continued improvement.

DEQ is working with the City under an InterGovernmental Agreement to complete source control and sediment evaluation work throughout the Slough as it relates to discharges associated with City Outfalls. DEQ is also working with private parties at more than 30 individual sites to conduct site specific source control and sediment cleanup evaluation. In addition, as described in document provided below, DEQ is conducting investigations in various segments of the Slough using settlement funds obtained from private parties in exchange for a liability release for their site’s contribution to contamination in Slough sediments.

Current Documents and Supporting Information

General project documents

All documents are in PDF unless otherwise noted.

• Columbia Slough Sediment Study
  • Report
  • Appendices (8MB)
  • Presentation
• Columbia Slough Screening Levels
  • Sediment Screening Level Table - 2006 Final XLSM
    This is a macro-enabled Excel spreadsheet. Please contact the Project Manager if you experience difficulties opening this file.
  • Sediment Screening Level Memo
• Fact sheet: Columbia Slough Sediment Investigation
• Fact sheet: Columbia Slough Sediment Project Settling Potential Cleanup Liability
• Fact sheet: Columbia Slough Natural Resource Fund
  • Proposal Requirements
• Second Amendment to Inter-Governmental Agreement - Oversight of Columbia Slough Sediment Remedial Action
• Site Status
  A spreadsheet listing the site Columbia Slough cleanup sites and their status.
• The following information is located on the City of Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services Web site, or by contacting Jennifer Sutter or Chuck Harman.
  • Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Columbia Slough Sediment Program
    2011 State of the Slough Report
    Long-Term Monitoring Plan
• Columbia Slough Baseline Evaluation Summary Table
• Columbia Slough Baseline Evaluation
• Learn how your business can save money and reduce pollution
  Sign up for Free DEQ HW Technical Assistance
• July 2005 Update
• January 2004 Update
• May 2003 Update

Lower Columbia Slough Segment

• Fact sheet: Lower Columbia Slough Sediment Investigation
• Columbia Slough Sediment Study - January 2012 (5.5MB, 106 pages)
• The following sites in the Lower Slough have Consent Judgments providing settlements for sediment investigation/cleanup. The Consent Judgments can be viewed by going to the ECSI page for the site using the ECSI number or links below:
  • Arclin Surfaces, Inc. and Simpson Timber Company - ECSI 161
  • Blasen Family LLC - ECSI 3785
  • Macadam Aluminum and Bronze Co. - ECSI 2765
  • Tindall Family Properties, LLC - Pacific Meat - ECSI 145
  • Precision Equipment, Inc. - ECSI 152
  • Wastech, Inc. - ECSI 1271

Whitaker Slough Segment

The following sites in the Whitaker Slough have Consent Judgments providing settlements for sediment investigation/cleanup. The Consent Judgments can be viewed by going to the ECSI page for the site using the ECSI ID number or link provided below:

• Fact sheet: Whitaker Slough Sediment Investigation
• Columbia Slough Sediment Study - Whitaker Slough (4.5MB, 109 pages)
• Portland Willamette - ECSI 2767
• Johnson Lake - ECSI 1311
• Halton Co. - ECSI 121
• Halton Voith - ECSI 1503

[print version]