News & Updates on Portland Harbor Restoration | |
Recent Updates: Trustee Council Implements First Restoration Project Action in Portland Harbor! | |
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The Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council (Trustee Council) is excited to announce their first use of settlement funds to support on-the-ground restoration at Portland Harbor - the ultimate goal of the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) and restoration process! This significant milestone involved purchasing ecological habitat credits from two Portland Harbor restoration banks: PGE/Harborton and Alder Creek.
For decades, natural resources in Portland Harbor, such as fish and wildlife, have been injured by contamination. Under Federal law, the Trustee Council has been evaluating how the contamination has harmed these natural resources and seeking compensation (damages) from polluters for that harm. Recent cash settlements with polluters that were undergoing bankruptcy provided the Trustee Council with funds to implement this action.
The Trustee Council’s 2021 Restoration Plan concludes that restoration banks will achieve the Council’s restoration goals for early settlements for the Portland Harbor NRDA. Restoration banks are large-scale projects built by commercial developers and other entities that restore a mix of habitat types and support a wide variety of native plants and animals found in and along the Willamette River. Each project generates a specific number of ecological credits that can be purchased to resolve natural resource damages liability. These credits can be purchased by the Trustee Council using funds from cash settlements, or the Trustee Council can accept credits purchased directly from a restoration bank by potentially responsible parties interested in settling their liability.
Using $2 million in bankruptcy funds, the Trustee Council worked with an auction company, Procurex, to run a reverse auction - a competitive process that achieves a fair market price for ecological credits at the time of the auction (noting that the price restoration bank developers charge may change over time). To participate in the auction, restoration banks had to meet several criteria to ensure their projects followed Trustee Council habitat and performance requirements. Ultimately, the Trustee Council purchased 20.97 credits from the Wildlands Alder Creek project for $62,000 per credit and 11.29 credits from the PGE Harborton project for $62,001 per credit.
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Alder Creek Restoration Project, Wildlands | |
Harborton Restoration Project, PGE | |
The Trustee Council is pleased to have taken this important step in compensating the public by supporting restoration that benefits fish and wildlife injured by contamination in Portland Harbor. You can find more information, including the benefits of restoration banking, what is a reverse auction, and more in the Trustee Council’s Frequently Asked Questions about the credit purchase and on the Trustee Council's website. | |
Spotlight: What is Monitoring and What are Performance Standards? | |
Monitoring is an important part of restoration. It measures the success or failure of a restoration project over a period of time. Monitoring is particularly critical for natural resource damage assessment “restoration banks” (NRDA Restoration Banks) because these projects may be used to resolve polluters’ liability. The Trustee Council has divided monitoring of NRDA Restoration Banks into four phases; baseline, implementation, and effectiveness monitoring, followed by long term stewardship. The four developed Portland Harbor NRDA Restoration Banks (Alder Creek, Linnton Mill, PGE Harborton, and Rinearson Natural Area) are currently undergoing effectiveness monitoring, which takes place during the initial 10 years after construction is completed or until all performance standards are met. | |
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What are the performance standards?
Some of these standards make sure the restoration projects were constructed as planned and determine if the projects created the expected quality and quantity
of fish and wildlife habitat. One specific performance standard is related to fish passage, to allow fish to complete their natural migration cycles. Fish passage is monitored through visual surveys of
barriers. Any barriers taller than 6 inches may be too tall for juvenile fish to jump
over, and complete barriers, such as
excess silt in a stream channel, can block fish access. Potential passage barriers observed during monitoring trigger a
project review to determine what, if any, adaptive management actions are necessary.
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Naturally forming gravel berm, PGE, 2022 | |
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In addition to measuring progress towards site-specific performance standards, other information is gathered during monitoring. For example, fish and wildlife survey data allows the Trustee Council to
see broader trends in the ecological quality of the restored habitats. The Alder Creek and Linnton Mill restoration sites both had sightings of juvenile Coho and Chinook salmonid species, which shows that juvenile salmonids use the restored channels, likely for resting and feeding.
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Snorkeler at Linnton Mill restoration site, RestorCap, 2022 | |
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Juvenile Coho Salmon at Alder Creek, Wildlands,
2022
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Portland Harbor Collaborative Working Group Virtual Meeting
June 12th 2024, 5:00-8:00PM The Portland Harbor Collaborative is made up of a diverse group of individuals with varied interests and perspectives who also want to be involved in the Willamette River Cleanup. Everyone is welcome to observe the quarterly Portland Harbor Collaborative meetings, though participation will be focused on Collaborative members. Find out more information as it's updated here.
Portland Bridge Swim
July 14th 2024, Since 2011, hundreds of participants have gotten in the Willamette river to swim under 12 bridges, equaling roughly 11 miles. This event is ONLY open to 2024 US Masters Swimming members who are at least 18 years old, but is open to volunteers (in and out of the water). Find more information here.
Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
July 19-21st 2024 The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival is live for our 44th anniversary of this landmark jazz festival. This is a free event, but you will have many opportunities to support the festival through cash donations and purchasing drinks from the beer and wine garden. The Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group will be tabling at the event, come and say hi. More information here.
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Portland Harbor in the News
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Rinearson Natural Area Pond, NOAA, April 2024 | |
The Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council is responsible for restoring natural resources that have been impacted by contamination in the Portland Harbor Superfund site. The purpose of this newsletter is to share information about the Trustee Council's work with those who are interested in our assessment and restoration efforts.
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