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Portland Botanical Garden gets greenlight from DEQ
The nonprofit Portland Botanical Gardens has signed an agreement to purchase the 59-acre McCormick & Baxter Superfund site in North Portland for $1.195 million. They made the agreement with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on May 19, 2026. The nonprofit plans to develop gardens, 10 acres of public green space, a connection to…
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Radius scrap metal yard ordered to submit a fire prevention plan — appeals it
Two months after two massive and preventable scrap metal fires at Radius Recycling in 2024 sent plumes of toxic fumes and metal particulates over North Portland and Linnton, the North Peninsula Review discovered that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality sent an enforcement letter to the company alleging that Radius was operating an unpermitted solid…
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Pressure forces DEQ to address Toxins at Cathedral Park (September 2023)
Several years ago, Alex Lopez, a local activist working on the superfund cleanup, happened to read an agency report in depth and found that DEQ had discovered high concentrations of PCBs in a certain location in Cathedral Park while testing for sources of river contaminants. The concentration was well above what is considered safe for…
