The Bridgeton Clean & Green Team have joined a city-wide community to put the pressure on individual businesses to clean up their act. Our draft letters to EcoLube and ORRCO are being shared with the other 58+ neighborhood organizations and NGOs. They will be presented later in Feb. or March. In the mean time, we are emailing comments to DEQ regarding Columbia Steel's air quality permit.

 
REQUEST: COLUMBIA STEEL CASTING - Please email your comments
Right now, we would like you to email a comment on the Proposed Air Quality Permit for Columbia Steel Casting. DEQ’s comment period ends next week, on Dec 18. 

Ironically, DEQ is currently testing their facility now, from Dec 8 - 18th but they can’t wait because their permit is based on a 5-year cycle. The new Cleaner Air Oregon regs. require testing for fine particulate matter and green house gasses (new categories). this will be the first full-fledged data collection, testing 18 separate sites within the Columbia Steel Casting Co. the data from these tests will be released mid-Feb. The links below go to DEQ NW Regional Air Quality Program for details on regulations.

Please take a few minutes to email your comment now:

WHAT: Send written comments by email
WHEN: Written comments are due by 5 p.m. on Friday December 18th, 2020
WHERE: Email to: NWRAQPermits@deq.state.or.us

Sample Email Text (feel free to edit and personalize):
Please postpone Columbia Steel’s Air Containment Discharge Renewal until the Cleaner Air Oregon Health Assessment is publicly released.  This would allow me to make an informed public comment. I understand that DEQ found that Columbia Steel is in the top three most dangerous industrial polluters to human health.
Sincerely, _______________ 
I am a (board) member of the Bridgeton Neighborhood Association

____________________________________________________

For More Information, see this Public Notice about Columbia Steel Castings’ proposed Air Quality Permit:
https://www.oregon.gov/deq/get-involved/documents/121820columbia.pdf

April 30, 2018
DEQ Air Quality Permit Coordinator,
The Bridgeton Neighborhood Association Green Team asks DEQ to deny the application by ORRCO for air quality and solid waste permits. We believe that health of our neighbors in the Bridgeton community and the natural environment surrounding us will be negatively impacted by the uncontrolled emissions and from ORRCO burning waste oil as fuel to run their processing plant. We also think that they are not carefully handling potential PCB’s that contaminate their collected waste fuel. 
DEQ has not been able to verify for certain what ORRCO emits. We want the oil refinery emissions to be monitored real-time, as they come out of the stacks and we want the full-spectrum results to be fully-disclosed and transparent. ORRCO should be required to install both a thermal oxidizer for the VOC gases and a Scrubber to contain all the Particulate Matter.
 
ORRCO’s system that allows for emissions self-reporting is not substantial enough for this dangerous type of industry. We think real-time monitoring technology has become readily available to verify exactly how much and exactly what hazardous agents are being emitted. There is evidence that refineries underestimate and underreport their true VOC emissions (like benzene, xylene and toluene which can cause headaches, dizziness and cancer) by 10-12 times. We want DEQ to stop allowing oil re-refiners to self-report their emissions and instead rely on quantifiable facts. 
 
DEQ should not grant a “used oil burning“ exemption to these oil refiners. It’s been misapplied. The original intent was for small space heaters in sheds as an “incidental process,” it should not apply to larger scale oil refining operations. By definition, it is not used oil by the time it hits their boilers because it’s already been processed into fuel. On one hand, DEQ calls it ‘used oil’ but on the other hand DEQ calls it “fuel” (i.e. on the proposed permit) However the two products are not the same thing and are not interchangeable. This mis-applied exemption causes the whole problem! We want DEQ do stop allowing this loophole as part of the ORRCO permit. 
 
Sincerely,
 
BNA Green Team Members
Bridget Bayer
Laura Miller
Ann Howell
Jon Peterson

​March 18, 2019
 
Dear Committee on Energy and Environment,
 
We live in the Bridgeton neighborhood, a small but powerful community perched on the Northern edge of the city of Portland. We are the neighbors who live on the I-5 corridor and are directly affected by dirty diesel.
We strongly urge you to support the strongest possible Clean Energy Jobs bill, HB 2007 that will be introduced in the 2019 Oregon Legislative session.
We must put a declining cap on all greenhouse gases to ensure Oregon meets it Green House Gas (GHG) goals: to reduce all GHG emissions by 45% by 2035 against 1990 levels and to zero by 2050.
We need to make sure polluters pay and hold them accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis. A market-based approach will both ensure GHG reductions and level the playing field for clean energy.
We need to invest in climate solutions that will ensure a just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy.
In addition to achieving these three vital aims of climate legislation we also urge you to do all you can to make sure this legislation is as effective as it needs to be by:

• Advocating for an aggressive cap that ensures steep reductions in GHGs.
• Advocating for a maximum of 25% free allowances for regulated entities, and
• Advocating for a maximum of 4% offsets with at least half of that providing direct environmental benefit to Oregon.

We have an urgent need for action. Worldwide GHG emissions are now at an all-time high. And C02 emissions in U.S. rose a startling 3.4% in 2018. 
Oregon has often taken the lead in addressing major environmental problems by passing legislation like the Bottle Bill and Statewide Comprehensive Land Use Planning.  We need to once again be a leader in tackling the climate crisis. Please do all that you can to help us cap and reduce greenhouse gases.  We have the ingenuity, knowhow and workforce; you are a motivator of political will. Please make it happen, and soon.
Sincerely, 
Bridgeton Neighborhood Association Board of Directors
cc. Representative Tina Kotek & Senator Lew Frederick

​7/5/17    BNA Green Team meeting notes
Bridget Bayer, Laura Miller, Karen McCausland, Jon Peterson (Peter Wilcox not attending)
 
Team Communications
Add Karen & Laura to FB admin so they can post too (Scott/Susan)
Start FB event page - BB
Announce Green Team on next E-newsletter (Scott/Susan)
Susan will help manage our “space” on BNA website for our information & referral resources.
                 
AIR
DEQ - Bridget
Letters were sent to DEQ re APES & ORRCO permits for public comment by 7/3/17.
Now time to send to APES & ORCCO bizs too.
 
WATER - Karen
Division of State Land (DSL) says that they are not responsible for pollution. Karen contacted DEQ or Mult.  Co Sheriff. Re “anchor squats” or live-aboards.
DSL organized and inventoried (with assistance from PPD & River Patrol, part of Mult Co Sheriff) in order to notify & give civil notices to all.
Karen will get copy of notices that are being distributed.
Contacted Sophia Chavier, Neighborhood Crime Coordinator so they are in the loop too.
 
LAND
Signs - Laura
Laura contacted Mike Corrie ,PBOT from City of Portland who approved a new Dead End sign which is now installed on the North side, on a stand alone pole.
Contact: Mike Corrie, Engineering Associate, PBOT Traffic Investigations
P: (503) 823-5278, mike.corrie@portlandoregon.gov
 
Bump refreshing? Can we get our boats at speed bump signs refreshed?
 
The BNA Land Use committee is managing the process for signs on triangle & street cap signs. – Check with Eric Molander for progress.
 
Jon - House & neighborhood upgrade – wants strong, “Scandinavian” house colors
 
Triangle – Need new maintenance gardener for triangle: Dan Riedel - ??? or Dan McGee?
 
Safety - Laura
Cherry Ann & Ann Howell are both trained in NET and will share resources to put on our site.
Add Neighborhood Watch info & environmental safety by design published by PPB.
 
NOTE: Blue Frog just added cameras – list other marinas on the site too?
 
 
Garbage & Recycling - Bridget
Research all garbage & recycling handlers to coordinate if possible. Arrow picks up on Tues.
 
Make Metro resources available at picnic (in Green Team notebook, flyers and giveaways).
 
Next meeting – Wednesday, Aug 2nd  4:30-6:00pm, at Channel’s Edge
 
BNA Green Team Meetings: 1st Wednesdays, 4:30pm @ Channel’s Edge

​May 14, 2017
 
 
Metro
Solid Waste Information Compliance & Cleanup
600 NE Grand Ave,
Portland, OR 97232
swicc@oregonmetro.gov
 
 
RE: Public comment
American Petroleum Environmental Services, Inc. solid waste facility license
Oil Re-Refining Company, Inc. solid waste facility license renewal
 
To Metro Administrators,
 
It is difficult to calculate how much toxic air that local residents in North and Northeast Portland breathe on a daily basis.  Diesel truck traffic, Portland International Raceway cars spewing exhaust and nearby industrial manufacturers on Swan Island all combine to pollute the air we breathe. Most of these polluters are hard to monitor except those required by DEQ and permitted for handling waste by Metro.
 
DEQ knows that the amount of poison emitted from APES and ORRCO, local businesses on Hayden Island that collect and refine oil for resale, are two of the worst offenders. In reprocessing used oil, these two companies emit more than 300 hazardous agents that threaten human health as well as the natural environment. Emission reports for these companies are continually not available to the public. 
 
Metro intervened in the past to halt some of ORRCO’s questionable practices because of inappropriate handling and storage of the used oil products they consolidate and reload. Please consider the policies and loopholes that allow these hazardous materials to be used in our neighborhood and transported through the Metro region.
 
We ask that Metro deny the expansion permit request by APES and the continued operation by ORRCO until such time as these companies considerably improve their handling of used oil products. The mutual agreement between DEQ and APES for its expansion plans are flawed and need to include technological improvements that can be monitored as well as more detailed plans to store and transport this waste.
 
Please deny these permit requests from APES and ORCCO.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
Karen Kane, Chair
Bridgeton Neighborhood Association Board