A controversial wood treatment plant in Eugene’s Bethel neighborhood is now a Superfund site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the designation Thursday.
For nearly 80 years, the J.H. Baxter site produced railroad ties, telephone poles, and other specialized wood products.
But in its final decades, it also prompted complaints, probes, and fines. Bethel residents complained of noxious odors, mostly at night. Federal and state environmental agencies monitored it for air, water, and soil contamination. Environmental health assessments in 2006 and 2008 showed that two cancer types, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer, had rates slightly higher in the neighborhoods adjacent to the plant compared to Lane County or Oregon overall.
J.H. Baxter officially closed the plant in January 2022 as dioxins were found in neighboring lawns and gardens. Officials worked to truck away soil and remove trees, while locals avoided exposure to soil and were wary of eating eggs laid by their own chickens.
With operations ceased, the J.H. Baxter facility has been reduced to a phantom of its former self; crews have dismantled the so-called “tank farm” and trucking traffic has ceased. Large vats of chemicals and toxic waste have challenged workers, as they try to take apart the plant’s infrastructure while avoiding spillage.
EPA staff suggested a couple years ago that a federal Superfund designation would help clean-up. Now with that status made official in the federal register, partners – including the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality – are pleased.
“This contamination remains and is an issue for public health,” DEQ spokesperson Lauren Wirtis told KLCC. “And the important part about bringing in the resources to address it completely, holistically, means that we can prevent that exposure to the public.”
This isn’t the first time a J.H. Baxter facility has received Superfund status. Its Weed, California plant was listed in 1989. As required by federal law, EPA officials are evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of the cleanup with its sixth Five-Year Review this year.
EPA officials weren’t available to comment Thursday, the day the Baxter plant was listed as a Superfund site. But in earlier interviews with KLCC, EPA Region 10 staff said on-site assessments will determine the ultimate amount of federal dollars that’ll go into cleaning up the property.
Two other sites received Superfund designations on Thursday: Historic Potteries in Trenton, NJ; and Carlisle Village Cleaners in Albuquerque, NM.
In January, J.H. Baxter company president Georgia Baxter-Krause pleaded guilty to committing clean air and hazardous waste violations then lying about it to federal regulators. In addition to paying $1.5 million in fines, she’s expected to serve a 90-day sentence at a federal facility in Seattle later this year.
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