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RIDGEFIELD — Once a brownfield soaked with toxic chemicals, Ridgefield’s waterfront is poised to again become an economic hub.
The Port of Ridgefield announced in November that it has partnered with Palindrome Properties Group, a Portland firm with mixed-use development projects in Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.
How has the port succeeded where other environmental cleanup projects have foundered?
“A big part of that is the commitment to a vision and some stability and long-term presence of people on both sides,” said Randy Mueller, executive director for the Port of Ridgefield.
Mueller said the port has also had a good relationship with the state Department of Ecology, which was key to the project’s success, despite state agencies only being funded on two-year cycles.
“This was a 20-year project,” Mueller said. “Some of this was essentially an unofficial commitment by the Department of Ecology and their leadership who knew this would take more than two years.”
The waterfront property lies along Lake River, which connects to Vancouver Lake to the south and the Columbia River to the north and is adjacent to downtown Ridgefield. Lake River passes through the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, one of the city’s major tourism drivers.
Plume of pollution
The port began looking at redevelopment possibilities in 2001 with the adoption of its Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements, a policy and planning document similar to growth plans used by cities and counties.
Before redevelopment could begin, though, the port had to undertake extensive cleanup.
Ridgefield Veneer Co. set up shop along Lake River in 1956. In 1963, it merged with Pacific Wood Treating Corp., which pressure-treated telephone poles and railroad ties with chemical agents. The plant closed in 1993, leaving the soil tainted by pentachlorophenol, creosote and copper-chromium-arsenate.
While some remediation began in 1995, work on the 30,000-gallon underground plume of chemicals wouldn’t begin until 2006. In consultation with Ecology, the port chose a steam injection method to clean the soil to a depth of 2 feet. Along with removing contaminants, the port also replaced the stormwater system and rai …
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