It was supposed to be done in 1989.  That’s when the last two hundred cubic yards of contaminated soil were removed from the former site an old gas station at 30^th and Hilyard.

DEQ is finally set to approve the cleanup site which has been idling beneath the south side of Albertson’s grocery store parking lot.  Cathy Rodda, a DEQ natural resource specialist, says the initial cleanup occurred before the creation of an underground storage tank program in the late ‘80s.

Rodda:  “Once the program got initiated there was a prioritization because of the changes in underground storage tank compliance rules, and with upgrading and tank removals that were taking place in the late ‘80s and then into the late ‘90s it was ranked a lower priority.”

The agency’s Eugene office is taking written comments on the site from the public through the rest of March, after which it will likely approve the cleanup.