The City of Oakridge has received a $500,000 Brownfield assessment grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess contamination levels of its old log ponds, and possibly reopen an old recreation facility.
The Oakridge Industrial Park Log Ponds span 220 acres on the east side of town. City Planner Guen DiGioia says they’re a holdover from when Pope and Talbot ran its lumber mill from the 1930s through the 1990s.
The level of contaminants is an ongoing concern for officials, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyl.
DiGioia said she spent between 40-60 hours working on the grant application for the EPA, and this was her second effort. In her application, she described the levels of contamination:
“A 2013 fish tissue study of the log and wildlife ponds found PCB and dioxin concentrations at levels greater than 40 times above acceptable levels for recreational, subsistence, and tribal fishermen,” wrote DeGioia. “A ‘no fishing’ sign hangs to deter fishermen, however, as the closest and most accessible waterway in the area, thanks to its relatively flat topography, this does not stop folks from casting their line.”
With the half-million dollars now approved, DiGioia said it’s exciting to move forward with the assessment.
“My concerns with the log ponds are the legacy hazardous waste that is said to be in the sediments,” she told KLCC. “It's been detected here in the past, back in the 90s, and people shouldn't be accessing the water, they shouldn't be fishing here. But people still do.”
DiGioia hopes the heavy metals in the ponds can be cleaned up, and said this Brownfields assessment grant is a crucial first step.
“My concerns are as we have hotter and drier conditions, and this pond is no longer being fed by the canal, the water level is dropping more and more,” said DiGioia. “And those sediments could be exposed as the water is no longer there.”
The old Willamette Activity Center on School Street is another priority site. DiGioia said they hope to reopen it for several community services including the Food Box and Orchid Health Clinic.
Business Oregon is helping the City of Oakridge by sharing some of its Brownfields money for asbestos removal. DiGioia added that there is an old storage tank for heating oil somewhere in the lower levels, which they need to locate and assess.
For the future, DiGioia suggested there could be other places in Oakridge that need remediation, such as dilapidated facilities built decades ago, or industrial sites.
“Hopefully the community will help us identify locations, though we do have some other locations in mind,” she said.
Copyright 2026, KLCC News.
