The Ongoing Saga of the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad (PVJR)
Chelatchie Prairie Railroad from Clark County government
As always, we are closely following the long and winding story of the PVJR and all of its tendrils. Here are the updates as well as actions our members can take this month on this issue. We appreciate all of you who have already written letters, made calls, and donated!
1) Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed that PVJR and Green Works Enterprises barely pay any fines at all for the environmental damage they caused.
What happened? PVJR and Green Works Enterprises (a contractor of PVJR) built unpermitted roads that caused environmental damage to the Curtin Creek areas of central Clark County and committed environmental violations in the pristine Chelatchie Prairie forests of northeast Clark County. The activities killed fish and destroyed a wetland and riparian ecosystem. The EPA found that the PVJR and Green Works Enterprises violated the Clean Water Act.
The proposed settlement: EPA Region 10’s proposed fines are no more than a slap on the wrist for the two aforementioned companies. The settlement did not require any admission of guilt, nor did it require the companies to return the damaged areas to their original state with trees and wetlands. You can read the full proposed settlement here.
Many of you wrote letters to the EPA Region 10 voicing that EPA should:
- fine PVJR the maximum monetary penalty
- require an admission of malfeasance by PVJR and Green Works Enterprises
- require PVJR and Green Works Enterprises to restore the land to its prior condition before having been decimated by the actions of PVJR and contract workers.
What’s next? The deadline for submitting comments to the EPA was February 14th. We will keep you posted on the outcome of the settlement!
2) Fundraising for a Study of the Environmental Impacts of the Potential Chelatchie Bluff Mine
We are working diligently with two local coalitions to ensure that the future of the Chelatchie Prairie doesn’t include a gravel pit mine. Currently, our allies at the Friends of Central Vancouver (FOCV) and the Chelatchie Prairie Coalition (CPC) are doing important work to help illustrate the devastating environmental impacts, particularly on our region’s water and ecosystem, a future mine would have. These organizations have hired HGX Solutions LLC, for Phase 2 development to explore the potential impacts to the environment should the Chelatchie Bluff Mine come into operation.
The aim of the study is to evaluate and provide a reputable scientific understanding of the potential outcomes and harm that could be caused by the following:
- Large open pit excavations and ground disturbance in areas with increased potential in geohazards, such as slope erosion and landslides.
- The effects of industrial surface mine operations near the adjoining DOE cleanup sites that may increase the potential penetration of carcinogenic materials into the waterways.
- The opening and removing a large segment of overburden material, alluvium and/or rock resulting in local surface water contamination, reduction in surface water discharge (e.g., springs), aquifer recharge which could adversely impact the groundwater level and stream flows to the surrounding watersheds.
FOCV and CPC have already fundraised more than half of the cost of the study, but they need an additional $5600. We encourage you to donate to this important effort (all donations are tax deductible) here: https://www.focv.info/donations/