DEQ SITE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM - STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION
Site Name: Mount Hood Railroad Yard
Site CERCLIS Number: N/A
DEQ ECSI Number: 4760
SAPS Score/Priority: 96/High
Site Address: 110 Railroad Street, Hood River, OR Section 25 or 36, T3N, R10E
Recommendation By: Dan Crouse, Project Manager, Site Assessment Section, DEQ Eastern Region
Approved By: Sheila Monroe, Cleanup Program Manager
Date: June 14, 2010
Background:
The Mount Hood Railroad Yard site is located at 110 Railroad Street in Hood River, Oregon (see Figure 1 and below). The Hood River County site, a short line rail yard near two major rivers, has operated for more than a century.
Northwest portion of the site looking north on December 23, 2009
1 The site was discovered as part of DEQ’s Eastern Region Site Assessment Section (ER/SAS) Railroad Site Discovery Project (see Attachment 1).
Site Description/History:
I-84
Depot
Hood River Slough
Shop
Yard
Pump House
June 29, 2005 aerial courtesy of GoogleEarth.
The approximately 3-acre, elongated site (see Figure 2) is in an area of mixed industrial, commercial, recreational, and residential use. The site is bordered by the Union Pacific tracks, a slough, and I-84 to the north, by wooded land and the Hood River to the east, by a wine tasting room, a hillside, and commercial/residential properties to the south, and by mostly downtown commercial properties to the west. The site, which conforms to the base of the hill and slopes toward the Hood River to the east, has paved and gravel surfaces along with extensive areas of fill.
ER/SAS sent Information Requests to the current owner and operator on March 31, 2010. A reply from the Mount Hood Railroad Company (MHRC) was received on April 9, 2010 (see Attachment 2) and included their DEQ Stormwater Pollution Control Plan (see Attachment 3). ER/SAS also interviewed company representatives on-site and by phone. ER/SAS used this information and readily available information such as aerial photos, Sanborn Insurance maps, local periodicals, and institutional knowledge on the operation of railroads plants to complete the evaluation.
2 According to their response, MHRC “owns, maintains, and operates a short line railroad” along with a scenic rail excursion service between Hood River and Parkdale. MHRC operates out of two buildings, the depot and the section house (which serves as the chemical storage facility). Current activities involving the potential release of hazardous substances include refueling (gasoline and diesel), lubricating materials (grease), regular changing of oil and other fluids, external washing of equipment and buildings, parts cleaning (solvents), painting, weed killing (herbicides), and de-icing chemicals. Most of these materials are stored inside the section house according to the plan.
MHRC manages waste oil on-site in a 275-gallon wire-caged plastic tote (see page 5 of Attachment 4, Additional Site Photos) and generates approximately 875 gallons of waste oil per year. The waste oil is removed and recycled.
No significant spills or releases were reported by MHRC on the Information Request; however, staining was observed by ER/SAS under the diesel AST (see page 4 of Attachment 4).
Broken water line.
The section house, with a recent excavation for a broken water line, looking west (6/10/10).
The MHRC yard services an approximately 22-mile railroad that was built in 1906 by David Eccles, a Salt Lake City entrepreneur who also had timber holdings in Hood River County (see Attachment 5). The line hauled freight for a large lumber mill located in Dee built by Mr. Eccles and the extensive orchard properties in the Hood River Valley along with commuter service to small towns like Odell and Parkdale.
3 The engines were steam-powered, except for a brief period when coal was used, until the first diesel engine was purchased in the early 1950s (see Attachment 6). Fuel oil, lubricants, and other oils (including waste) were listed in annual reports for the site dating back to 1912 (see Attachment 7). The rail line was not large enough for a turntable roundhouse, smaller engine houses and car barns were used at the site.
Rail ties were also listed in the 1912 and 1916 reports; however, the MHRC rail yard has always been connected by track to one of the largest tie treating operations in the Pacific Northwest, a tie plant located in The Dalles, approximately 20 miles to the east.
Based on a review of available Sanborn Insurance maps (see Figures 3 through 7 and below), the rail yard has gone through significant changes over time in regards to the location of engine houses and other assorted buildings that were moved and demolished. More information is needed on the changes that occurred from 1906 to present including a complete inventory of all buildings that serviced rail cars, stored hazardous materials, or were used as shops along with any vaults or disposal pits. See Attachment 8 for various photos showing former and active buildings.
Removed
Site
1928 Sanborn Map showing engine houses and other buildings that were removed.
O. C. Lighthall and family owned the railroad as an independent line from 1936 until 1968, when the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) purchased the line and operated as a subsidiary called the
4 Mount Hood Railway Company (see Attachment 9). UPRR reportedly spent $386,000 on roadbed improvements in 1975, including the replacement of 16,000 ties and putting in new track ballast. In 1976, UPRR moved around 2,900 rail cars with lumber as the year-round commodity. Available information indicates UPRR sent rail cars to their larger facilities for service or repair.
UPRR sold the railroad to the current owner, an investment group headed by Jack Mills, in 1987 (see Attachment 10). Eventually the lumber and plywood mills in Dee closed.
The rails were originally on trestles but eventually the site has been filled in until the rails are level with the ground surface (see Figure 8 & 9). According to MHRC staff, the filled areas are likely to include buried asbestos material.
The new wine tasting room and back lot looking east on 3/22/10.
More information is needed on the herbicides/pesticides used by prior operations. The line also served the Chevron Chemical facility in Odell, so large quantities of orchard pesticides passed through the yard.
Derailments and tank ruptures are periodic but common occurrences for any rail line. More information is needed to determine if the MHRC yard has been impacted by historic releases from damaged or derailed cars.
Regulatory History:
As previously mentioned, the site has a DEQ Stormwater permit (#14950) and is also listed in DEQ’s Underground Storage Tank (UST) and Asbestos programs (see Attachment 11). No known environmental assessments have been performed at the site.
5 Pathways:
Columbia River
Hood River Site
Residential
June 29, 2005 aerial courtesy of GoogleEarth.
Hood River is located at the confluence of the Hood and Columbia rivers, in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area (CGNSA). Hood River is predominantly an orchard, timber, and recreational sports community.
The population is slightly more than 6,000. The public water supply comes mostly from surface water sources located well south of the site.
The average annual precipitation is approximately 25 to 30 inches per year and occurs mostly during the winter months. The site is at an approximate elevation of 101 feet above sea level.
Surface Water - The site is near the banks of the Hood River and the confluence of the Columbia River (both migratory pathways for salmon species, see Attachment 12). The geography of this area has changed considerably over the years due to the construction of dams along the Columbia River and by fill used to create industrial and commercial properties on each
6 side of the mouth of the Hood River. The site has eight stormwater outfalls that are regulated by a DEQ WQ permit (see Attachment 13 for outfall map and sampling data). The outfalls discharge to a slough on the northern side of the UPRR tracks. In 1978, a UPRR crew dropped a drum of creosote into a Columbia River slough near the site (see Attachment 14). More information is needed to determine if the slough adjacent to the site has been impacted by previous operators. Surface water is a primary pathway of concern.
Soil - No site specific data available but well logs for adjacent or nearby properties record upper layers of sands, gravels, silts, and boulders underlain by basalts (see Attachment 15). Historic rail yard operations were reportedly sloppy. Staining is visible in the vicinity of the tracks and staining was observed around the diesel AST. Based on a review of photos on the Mount Hood Railroad website, vegetation has been cleared from the back lot during the past years. More information is needed to determine if this work included the removal of contaminated soil. Direct contact with hazardous substances is the primary pathway of concern.
Groundwater - The site was adjacent to the Hood River, therefore, depth to groundwater is expected to be shallow. There are limited drinking water wells in the vicinity of the site (see Attachment 16). Groundwater as recharge to the Hood and Columbia rivers is a primary pathway of concern.
Air - The site’s location in the Columbia River Gorge, an area noted for periodic strong winds, makes the potential for inhalation of contaminated dust a pathway of concern for on-site workers and visitors.
Columbia River
Site
Hood River
The site is near the confluence of the Hood and Columbia rivers (2/28/01).
7 Recommendation/Action:
ER/SAS has reviewed the limited file information relating to this site, conducted interviews, and site visits. The site is an active short line railroad yard that has operated for more approximately 100 years. Contaminants of concern include petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, and heavy oils (including lubricating oils and waste oil), solvents, herbicides/pesticides, and asbestos.
The rail yard operated with unknown, but likely minimal, secondary containment for an extended period prior to current environmental rules and regulations.
The site is a high priority for a preliminary assessment with sampling based on long-term use of a short line railroad near two rivers. ER/SAS recommends that the potentially responsible parties (PRP) be given the following options.
Work with DEQ to perform an Expanded Preliminary Assessment (XPA) with federal funding. Because DEQ has reviewed this site under an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, DEQ may recommend, at any time, that EPA add this site to the national CERCLIS list. CERCLIS is an acronym for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, commonly called Superfund; it refers to the national database of sites requiring further EPA action.
Once a site is added to CERCLIS, an XPA which may include limited sampling must be completed at the site within 12 months. Federal XPAs are performed by DEQ and at no cost to the property owner.
Join DEQ’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) or Independent Cleanup Pathway (ICP) where PRPs obtain DEQ oversight during the project, and may continue without delay through site characterization or cleanup, as needed.
The site is not recommended for proposal on DEQ’s Confirmed Release List (CRL) or Inventory at this time.
References:
Hood River newspaper articles.
Mount Hood Railroad website (http://www.brian894x4.com/MtHoodRR.html).
Oregon Water Resources Grid database for well logs.
Sanborn Insurance Maps.
Hood River Community Profile, prepared by Oregon Economic Development Department.
Referrals Within or Outside DEQ:
The site has not been referred outside of DEQ.
8 Site Location
REFERENCE
USGS 7.5 Topographical Maps Hood River, Oregon, 1994
SCALE 1 inch = 2,000 feet
Mt. Hood Railroad FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 1
SITE LOCATION MAP
Site Location
3N/10E/S25DC
Tax Lot 7800
2.94 acres
Mt. Hood Railroad FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 2
TAX LOT MAP
Site
Mt. Hood Railroad Yard FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 3
1902 SANBORN INSURANCE MAP
Site
Mt. Hood Railroad Yard FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 4
1905 SANBORN INSURANCE MAP
Site
Mt. Hood Railroad Yard FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 5
1909 SANBORN INSURANCE MAP
Site
Mt. Hood Railroad Yard FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 6
1916 SANBORN INSURANCE MAP
Site
Mt. Hood Railroad Yard FIGURE 110 Railroad Street Hood River, Oregon 7
1942 SANBORN INSURANCE MAP
Figure 8: Circa 1930 aerial:
Raised Trestles
Columbia River
Hood River
Site
Figure 9: March 26, 1966 aerial:
Site
Hood River
PriA Cnty City E# ECSI Railroad Site (as of 6/14/10) Address CRL RSSC BAKE Baker City 5347 Sumpter Railroad Shops David Eccles RD SUS RSSC BAKE Baker City 3394 Sumpter Valley RR Roundhouse Colorado PL & David Eccles RD SUS CNFA BAKE Huntington 3059 UPRR ‐ Huntington Railyard 14S/44E/S13 LIS NFA BAKE Huntington 2396 UPRR ‐ Huntington Yard Former Fuel Storage Sump 14S/44E/S13 NFA
PAE CROO Prineville 4975 City of Prineville Railroad 185 NE 10th ST SUS IC CROO Prineville 3532 Prineville Railroad ‐ Buried Vault Lamonta RD & Deer ST (NW corner of) LIS
RAOTH DESC Bend 2060 Burlington Northern RR ‐ Bend Right‐Of‐Way 18S/12E/S9d & 16a LIS EV2 DESC Redmond 3142 BNRR ‐ Redmond Right‐Of‐Way Antler AVE & RR Tracks SUS SI DESC Sisters 4318 Village @ Cold Springs Trinity WAY (west end) SUS
RSI GRAN Seneca 3822 Seneca Locomotive Shops (Former) 16S/31E/S34d LIS
EV HOOD Hood River 4760 Mt. Hood Railroad Maintenance Yard Front & E State (NE corner of) SUS CNFA HOOD Wyeth 2153 Wyeth Tie‐Treating Plant (Former) I‐84 Milepost 51 (vicinity of) LIS
RA KLAM Beatty 650 Weyerhaeuser ‐ Sycan Shop 36S/12E/S12 LIS RSSC KLAM Chiloquin 5096 Train Mountain Railroad Museum 36941 S Chiloquin RD SUS RISK KLAM Crescent Lake 1466 UPRR ‐ Crescent Lake Wye Track LIS RA KLAM Klamath Falls 1732 BNSF Midland Market Railyard 1800 Laverne AVE LIS RSSC KLAM Klamath Falls 4937 Gregory Forest Products ‐ 1985 Diesel Spill Lakeport BLVD SUS RSSC KLAM Klamath Falls 5099 Oregon California & Eastern RR Shop Adams ST & Applegate AVE SUS OM KLAM Klamath Falls 297 UPRR ‐ Klamath Falls 1585 Oak ST LIS
RSSC MALH Nyssa 3771 UPRR ‐ Nyssa Depot SUS
RSCS MORR Irrigon 2051 Irrigon Post Office 300 NE Main AVE SUS PriA Cnty City E# ECSI Railroad Site (as of 6/14/10) Address CRL NFA UMAT Athena 2395 Burlington Northern RR ‐ Athena Sherman & Waylawn & Waterman NFA NFA UMAT Barnhart 2213 UPRR ‐ Barnhart Spill Reith RD Milepost 17 NFA RA UMAT Hermiston 516 UPRR ‐ Hinkle Hinkle Yards LIS RSSC UMAT Pendleton 3905 OR&NC ‐ Pendleton Roundhouse SW 2nd ST & SW Frazer AVE SUS RSSC UMAT Pendleton 3904 UPRR ‐ Pendleton Roundhouse SW 4th ST & SW Goodwin AVE SUS CNFA UMAT Rieth 3000 Rieth Roundhouse 2N/32E/S7cd LIS
NFA UNIO 2551 UPRR ‐ North Powder Spill 6S/39E/S27 NFA CNFA UNIO La Grande 631 UPRR ‐ La Grande Jefferson & Fir STs LIS CNFA UNIO La Grande 1909 UPRR ‐ Tar Pits RR tracks adjacent to Hwy 30 LIS RFIA UNIO La Grande 2319 UPRR ‐ Wilfong Garden Property 1307 Madison AVE SUS
RSSC WALL 4904 UPRR Diesel Spill ‐ MP 64.25 RR tracks Milepost 64.25 SUS RSSC WALL Enterprise 2790 Enterprise Roundhouse Depot ST SUS NFA WASC 4065 UPRR Diesel Spill ‐ Rowena I‐84, Exit 76 (Rowena) NFA
RXPA WASC Maupin 3824 BNSF ‐ Maupin Rail Yard Railroad AVE SUS RSCS WASC Maupin (north of) 1992 Burlington Northern RR ‐ Deschutes River Spill Deschutes River Milepost 42 LIS RSSC WASC Moody 2185 UPRR ‐ Mile Post 1111.5.5 BNRR Tracks MP 11.511.5 SUS RSSC WASC The Dalles 4774 The Dalles Round House West W 1st ST SUS RSSC WASC The Dalles 3271 The Dalles Roundhouse (Former) The Dalles Railyard SUS ICON WASC The Dalles 54 UPRR ‐ The Dalles Tie Plant RD SUS
Attachment 4 (Additional Site Photos):
The section house looking northwest (3/22/10).
The section house and tracks looking east (3/22/10).
The section house shop (6/9/10).
Material stored in the section house (6/9/10).
The excavation for a broken water line looking east (6/9/10).
The excavation looking northwest (6/9/10).
The diesel AST with stained soil looking west (6/9/10).
The stained soil under the diesel AST (6/9/10).
The waste oil tote and 55-gallon drums (6/9/10).
Lubricated parts (6/9/10).
The eastern portion of the yard looking east (3/22/10).
Material storage in the eastern portion of the yard looking east (3/22/10).
The slough adjacent to the yard (6/9/10).
The site borders the Hood River (6/9/10).
SITE ASSESSMENT PRIORITIZATION SYSTEM (SAPS) - SCORESHEET (To be used with SAPS Guidance & Worksheet Version #6, December 2003)
Site Name: Mt. Hood Railroad Yard
Site Address: 110 Railroad Street, Hood River, Oregon.
ECSI Number: 4760
EPA ID Number:
Site Evaluator: Dan Crouse, Site Assessment project manager
Date: June 14, 2010
______
HIGH MEDIUM LOW NO CONF. THREAT THREAT THREAT THREAT VALUE
1. Contaminant Route Characteristics and Potential to Release
a. Hazardous Substance Containment 9 5 3 0 _A_ b. Depth To Aquifer 7 4 2 0 _A_ c. Distance to DW Well 7 4 2 0 _B_ d. Soil Permeability 3 2 1 0 _A_ e. Distance to Surface Water 7 4 2 0 _A_
2. Hazardous Substance Characteristics
a. Source Quantity 9 5 3 0 _B_ b. Toxicity/Persistence 9 5 3 0 _A_ c. Water Solubility 3 2 1 0 _B_
3. Exposure Potential
a. Groundwater Use 9 5 3 0 _A_ b. Land Use/Population 7 4 2 0 _A_ c. Surface Water Use 9 5 3 0 _A_ d. Sensitive Environments 7 4 2 0 _A_ e. T&E Species and Critical Habitats 7 4 2 0 _A_ f. Likelihood of Human Exposure 10 6 2 0 _B_
4. Evaluator Assessment of Threat 10 5 1 0 _B_
Add the circled numbers to get the total SAPS score.
Total SAPS score = ___96___ (out of 113 possible points)
Raw priority associated with score = __H_ (H, M, L) HIGH: 86 or above MED: 48 – 85 LOW: 47 or less (where further site action is needed)
DISCUSSION
Discuss your overall impression of the threat posed by the site. Include brief discussion of major factors such as potential or known releases, waste quantity, human and environmental targets, and beneficial use(s) of nearby groundwater or surface water. Also discuss relevant factors or considerations not addressed in the SAPS scoresheet. If applicable, explain why the total SAPS score does not reflect the threats the site may pose to human health or the environment.
The site is an active short line railroad yard that has operated for more approximately 100 years. Contaminants of concern include petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, lubricating oils, and waste oil), solvents, herbicides/pesticides, and asbestos.
The rail yard operated with no known secondary containment for an extended period prior to current environmental rules and regulations.
The site is a high priority for a preliminary assessment with sampling based on long-term use of a short line railroad near two rivers.
FINAL PRIORITY ASSIGNMENT
Further Action - High Priority
Further Action - Medium Priority
Further Action - Low Priority
No Further Action
Refer to ______for further consideration
Other: ______
LISTING RECOMMENDATION
Recommend proposal for Confirmed Release List
Recommend proposal for Inventory
Insufficient information to list on the Confirmed Release List
Insufficient information to list on the Inventory
Excluded from listing