Sullivan Electrical Substation
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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 10 1200 Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 May24, 2005 Reply to Attn Of: ECL-115 Dennis Norton Manager of Environmental Services Portland General Electric 121 S.W. Salmon Street Portland, OR 97204 Dear Mr. Norton: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its contractor, Ecology and Environment, Inc., has completed a Preliminary Assessment at the Willamette Falls Dam/Sulllivan Power Plant in West Line, OR. A copy of this Preliminary Assessment report is enclosed. Based on this review, EPA does not anticipate further investigation under the Federal Superfund Program. EPA's no futiher action designation does not relieve your facility from complying with appropriate Oregon state regulations. If you have any questions or need additional information please do not hesitate to contact me at (206)553-2594. ~i.peerely, ).) f::::; ~:-----,~~f,_ -,c_. Joanne LaBaw lSite Assessment Manager Enclosure CC: Chuck Harman, ODEQ. Gil Wistar, ODEQ Willamette Falls Dam ... Sullivan Power Plant .Preliminary Assessment Report West Linn, Oregon TDD: 04-11-0005 Contract: 68-SO-O 1-01 May 2005 Region 10 START-2 Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team Submitted To: Joanne LaBaw, Task Monitor United States Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Sixth Avenue Seattle, Washington 98101 WILLAMETTE FALLS DAM· SULLIVAN POWER PLANT PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT REPORT WEST LINN, OREGON TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1-1 2. SITE .BACKGROUND ........................................................... 2-1 2.1 SITE LOCATION ...................................................... 2-1 2.2 SITE DESCRIPTION .................................................. 2-2 2.3 OWNERSHIP IDSTORY ............................................... 2-2 2.4 SITE OPERATIONS AND WASTE CHARACTERISTICS .................... 2-2 2.5 START-2 ACTIONS ................................................... 2-4 3: MIGRATION/EXPOSURE PATHWAYS AND TARGETS .............................. 3-1 .3.1 GROUNDWATER MIGRATION PATHWAY ......................· ........ 3-1 3.2 SURFACE WATER MIGRATION PATHWAY ............................. 3-2 3.3 SOIL EXPOSURE PATHWAY .......................................... 3-5 3.4 AIR MIGRATION PATHWAY .......................................... 3-6 4. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................. 4-1 5. REFERENCES ........· .......................................................... 5-1 APPENDIX A PHOTOGRAPIDC DOCUMENTATION IO:START-2\04110005\S992 LIST OF TABLES ·Table Page 3-1 Groundwater Drinking Water Population Within a 4-Mile Radius ...................... 3-7 3-2 Population Within a 4-Mile Radius . 3-8 3-3 Wetlands Within a 4-Mile Radius ............................................... 3-9 IO:START-2\04110005\S992 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 2-1 Site Vicinity Map ............................................................ 2-6 2-2 Site Map ................................................................... 2-7 3-1 4-Mile Map ................................................................ 3-10 3-2 15-Mile Map ............................................................... 3-11 1O:ST ART-2\04110005\S992 v LIST OF ACRONYMS Acronym Definition AC alternating current cfs cubic feet per second .DC direct current E&E Ecology and Environment, fuc EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency ODEQ Oregon Department of Environmental Quality OWRD Oregon Water Resources Department MW Megawatt PA preliminary assessment PCB polychlorinated biphenyl PGE Portland General Electric ppm parts per million SPP Sullivan Power Plant START Superfund Technical Assessment Response Team TCR Tertiary Colun;ibia River TDL target distance limit TSCA Toxic Substance Control Act 10:START-2\04110005\S992 vii WILLAMETTE FALLS DAM - SULLIVAN POWER PLANT PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT REPORT WEST LINN, OREGON 1. INTRODUCTION Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E) was tasked by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide technical support for completion of a preliminary assessment (PA) at the Willamette Falls Dam - Sullivan Power Plant (SPP) located in West Linn, Oregon. E & E completed PA activities under Technical Direction Document Number 04-11-0005, issued under EPA, Region 10; Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START)-2 Contract Number 68-SO-O 1-01. The specific goals for the SPP PA, identified by the EPA, are: • Determine the potential threat to public health or the environment posed by the site; • Determine the potential for a release of hazardous constituents into the environment; and • Determine the potential for placement of the site on the National Priorities List. Completion of the PA included reviewing existing site information, collecting receptor information within the range of site influence, determining regional characteristics, and conducting a site visit. This document includes a discussion of background site information (Section 2), a discussion of migration/exposure pathways and potential receptors (targets; Section 3), conclusions (Section 4), and a list of pertinent references (Section 5). !O:START-2\041 l0005\S992 1-1 2. SITE BACKGROUND 2.1 SITE LOCATION Site Name: Willamette Falls Dam - Sullivan Power Plant CERCLISJD No.: ORN001002617 Location: West Linn, Oregon Latitude: 45°21 '22"North Longitude: 122°36'37"West Legal Description: Section 31, Township 2 South, Range 2 East Congressional District: 5 Site Owner: Portland General Electric (PGE) 121 S.W. Salmon Street Portland, Oregon 97204 Site Contacts: Dennis Norton J:>GE - Manager of Environmental Services 121 S.W. Salmon Street Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 464-8522 Jayne Allen PGE - Environmental Services 121 S.W. Salmon Street Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 464-8524 C.harles Harman Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) 2020 Southwest Fourth A venue, Suite 400 Portland, Oregon 97201-4987 (503) 229-5585 10:START-2\04110005\S992 2-1 2.2 SITE DESCRIPTION Willamette Falls Dam - SPP is an active hydroelectric power generating facility located in West Linn, Oregon, on the northeast bank of the Willamette River immediately downstream of the Willamette Falls (Figure 2-1). The facility is situated on a basalt island in the Willamette River. The West Linn Paper Company also is located on this basalt island. Buildings owned by this entity are located on either side of the SPP. The waterway on the north side of the basalt island is the Willamette Falls Locks, which are owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The plant is accessed by crossing a single-lane draw bridge spanning the locks, then passing directly through West Linn Paper Company's loading docks to the power plant. No other access route to the plant exists. The facility consists of a single building housing 13 turbines for power generation; and associated equipment (Figure 2-2). Several transformers are located outside on the northeast end of the building on the siphon spillway deck. 2.3 OWNERSHIP HISTORY The SPP is part of the Willamette Falls Project which is composed of two separate hydroelectric generating facilities: Station A located on the east side of the Willamette Falls and Station B which is the SPP, located on the west side of the Willamette Falls. The project first opened with Station A in 1889 followed by the opening of Station B, or SPP, in 1895. Station B was originally opened and operated by the Willamette Falls Electric Company, the predecessor to PGR (PGE 2004) 2.4 SITE OPERA TIO NS AND WASTE CHARACTERISTICS Construction of the SPP began in 1893 with the first generating units in service by the end of 1895. Between 1897 and 1927, the SPP was improved with a series of equipment additions and modifications. In 1952, the SPP was shut down, and over the next year was renovated. The SPP today is much the same as it was in 1953. (PGE 2005) The SPP has 13 hydroelectric turbines. Each of the 13 turbines has a separate water intake at the forebay which is located in the navigational canal to the locks. Water passing through the turbines discharges to the tailrace in a cul-de-sac area near the base of the Willamette Falls, then to the Willamette River. The SPP has a fish bypass ladder and fish counter/evaluator facilities which are operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. (PGE 2004) 10:START-2\04110005\S992 2-2 The 13 turbines each have a separate hydraulically operated wicket gate which regulates the flow of water to the turbine. Possibl~ drips and/or leaks from the hydraulics, and water condensation from the turbines, is collected in sumps (one for each turbine) and routed via a concrete trough to a single oil/water separator. Water in the separator drains to a sump, then to the Willamette River. The sump is equipped with an alarm that indicates when the sump is operating outside of normal conditions (PGE 2004 ). These conditions include inadequate operation of the submersible sump pump, higher than normal plant drainage, or a high river water level (PGE 2004). Power generated by the facility is fed through a 16-Megawatt (MW) primary transformer via a single transmission line to a power switchyard and substation located on a bluff above the plant to the north (PGE 2004)~ In July and August 2003, inspectors for the EPA Office of Environmental Assessment visited the plant to determine compliance with Federal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) regulations promulgated pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA; Nye 2004).