Appendix E – West Hayden Island, Portland, Oregon
| Mode | Rail, Marine, Highway |
|---|---|
| Ownership | Public/Private |
| Commodity Type | Various |
| Location | Urban, West |
| Lead Federal Agency | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Cooperating Agencies | U.S. DOT/FHWA, USCG |
| Review Agencies | U.S. EPA,NMFS, FWS |
| State or Local Agencies | Port of Portland, Portland Metro (Portland's MPO), City of Portland, Oregon DOT, Oregon FWS |
| Air Quality |  |
|---|---|
| Cultural Resources |  |
| Land Use | |
| Local Transportation |  |
| Natural Resources | |
| Noise/vibration | |
| Hazardous Waste | |
| Socioeconomics | |
| Water Quality | |
| NEPA, including agency consultation | |
|---|---|
| Use of structured process | |
| Integration of NEPA and state processes | |
| Timing of environmental review initiation | |
| Effect of process on project design and alternatives | |
| Multi-agency review | |
| Public involvement | |
Project Description
Hayden Island is located in the Columbia River and is adjacent to the Port of Portland. Originally a set of two islands subject to seasonal river inundation, the 1920's placement of groins by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the subsequent accretion of silt, created Hayden Island. The damming of upstream portions of the Columbia River has controlled river level fluctuations, making the island permanently habitable.
In 1983, Portland Metro (the Portland MPO) designated Hayden Island as within its Urban Growth Boundary, and determined that the island was suitable for marine industrial uses. The eastern end of the island was subsequently developed with housing and commercial uses. In 1991, Metro and the Port of Portland identified the western end of Hayden Island as one of the last remaining large locations in the metro area in which deep draft shipping could be developed. In 1994, the Port purchased 827 acres on the western end of the island for deep draft shipping and as an environmental reserve. These uses were confirmed in the 1995 Regional Comprehensive Plan prepared by Portland Metro. It was also determined that the proposed land uses for Hayden Island would best be achieved were the island to be annexed by the City of Portland and re-zoned under its processes; this process is underway. In addition to its expected use for deep draft shipping, the West Hayden Island facility would be able to service barge traffic from the Columbia River. The West Hayden marine terminal site is immediately across the channel from other port facilities, is linked via a spur to a rail line that bisects Hayden Island, and has nearby access to an Interstate Highway that currently serves Hayden Island. However, the bridge (Interstate-5) that serves the eastern end of Hayden Island is currently congested, with demand at capacity during peak periods.
The Port of Portland developed a three-phase plan for the development of the West Hayden Island intermodal facility. Depending on market demand, the development plan will be implemented over approximately a thirty-year period. Phase One consists of the development of an intermodal grain facility. Phases Two and Three include the establishment of automotive distribution and general marine cargo uses. Integral to the feasibility of Phases Two and Three is the construction of a road bridge to link the western end of Hayden Island with the Port's facilities on the mainland to avoid needing access to I-5. Construction of this bridge still requires funding and would require a Supplemental EIS for the project.
The commodities transferred at the West Hayden facility under Phase One will primarily be transported by rail. It is expected that peak truck traffic serving the Phase One facilities would be less than 60 vehicles per hour. Under Phases Two and Three, rail will serve many cargo needs, but trucking will be increasingly important (for example, automobiles being distributed within the Pacific Northwest by truck). However, the new bridge would meet the needs of the intermodal facility and alleviate traffic impacts on the eastern (I-5) bridge. The intermodal facility is projected to cost $120 million to construct (for all phases), and the bridge is estimated to cost an additional $44 million. The Port of Portland is involved in a concurrent federal and local permitting process, in which it is composing a Draft EIS of the full three-phase plan for the Army Corps of Engineers. The Port is simultaneously seeking annexation of the site to the City of Portland and the consequential re-zoning and application of local zoning laws.
Environmental Issues of Concern
West Hayden Island was predominantly created, and its former wetlands impacted, under activities conducted during the 1920s and 1930s. Subsequently, many dredge spoils were deposited on the island during the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, many potential concerns related to wetlands, natural resources, endangered species habitat, and historical resources were not directly at issue for this project, as they involved pre-existing conditions. Nonetheless, there are several habitat, wetlands, and natural resources issues still of concern on this project and are discussed below.
Cultural Resources: Hayden Island, which was once described by Lewis and Clark as the "canoe image island" was assumed to potentially have been a site of Native American activities. However, an archeological investigation found no evidence of artifacts.
Local Transportation and Noise/Vibration: The West Hayden facility has "host community issues" stemming from the East Hayden Island residents' concerns that the intermodal facility will negatively impact their access to I-5. East Hayden Island's sole highway access, the I-5 bridge, is already congested. The trucks would pass through a commercial area, including some retail and a hotel, which could produce noise and vibration impacts. Truck routes to the I-5 access ramps would not pass through any residential areas and under Phase I would not exceed 60 vehicles per hour. Nonetheless, there is significant community concern regarding the impacts of the truck traffic.
The Port has proposed a (new) West Hayden Island Bridge as a condition for Phases Two and Three to commence. However, there is some contention whether the Port would legally commit to not proceed with these Phases without construction of the bridge. The Port is seeking federal funding (hopefully earmarked) for half of the $44 million cost of bridge construction. The Port has offered to make $4.5 million in road improvements on the I-5 highway and bridge, in order to help mitigate highway and bridge impacts. It appears that most of the community believes that $4.5 million dollars in improvements would be inadequate to mitigate the ramp congestion and noise/vibration impacts the facility's truck traffic would create.
Natural Resources and Wetlands: The 827 acres that the Port acquired is a riparian habitat composed of intermittent wetlands in the lowlands and black cottonwood forest in the uplands, with a variety of small mammals and nesting grounds for migratory neotropical birds. A dispute among the parties over the size of these areas (for example, the cottonwood area is described by different parties at from 240 to over 400 acres). The wetlands consist of an intermittent creek and lake. EPA has suggested that a significantly greater portion of the island may be considered as wetlands, as the island's mean 15-foot elevation makes much of it susceptible to periodic flooding despite the upriver dams. No threatened or endangered species are present on the island. Nonetheless, the riparian forests, particularly the cottonwood, are considered critical habitat. Much of the area, including some of the cottonwood forest, includes dredge spoils that have been deposited for decades.
The Port plans to use eight million cubic yards of sand to raise much of their property's mean elevation from 15 feet to 30 feet, which would affect approximately 600 acres. This would include filling some wetlands and leveling some woodland. The remaining 227 acres of West Hayden Island would remain as open space and wooded wetlands with a 50-acre recreational area. The Port has proposed greater than one-to-one mitigation of wetlands and forest loss. However, there is considerable concern about habitat recovery time and the impacts of substantial habitat fragmentation. Partially because of the effects of Portland 's Urban Growth Boundary, West Hayden Island represents one of the largest cottonwood forests in the area providing critical interior habitat for certain species. Although not pristine, the location has been fenced off from people for approximately 15 years.
Through clean-up of dredge spoils, mitigation and restoration efforts, and protection of open space, the Port asserts that the proposed action would improve the island's environmental condition. This view is disputed by the resource agencies and some environmental groups because of the substantial habitat impacts, which they consider as outweighing the clean-up benefits. Furthermore, the island remains far below its full environmental potential, as characterized by its condition prior to the deposition of dredge spoils. Several environmental groups want the island restored to its circa 1940 environmental condition as an unspoiled, undeveloped habitat. Some local citizens who oppose the degradation of wetlands have sued the Port and are pushing for the revitalization of the island's historic wetlands through the resumption of seasonal natural inundation from the Columbia River. Concern exists over the interdependence of the wetlands and the health of the Columbia River, and the implications for endangered fish stocks.
Environmental Review Process
The project is currently in the DEIS phase, which is expected to be completed soon. In 1997, the Port of Portland anticipated initiating a DEIS for the first five years of development at the West Hayden intermodal facility (now known as Phase One). At the Port's request, the Army Corps of Engineers later decided to accept a DEIS for all thirty years (three phases) of proposed development at the facility, and the Notice of Intent (NOI) was issued on October 27, 1998. The change in the scope of the DEIS delayed project initiation by approximately one year, but will eliminate the need to prepare additional EISs in the future for Phases Two and Three. While the new bridge is described as occurring in Phase One in the NOI, it is still unfunded and is currently proposed for Phase Two, and possibly may not be built. Thus, when plans and funding for the West Hayden Island Bridge are finalized, it will likely require a supplemental EIS.
This aggregation of the three phases has been disputed by environmental groups, and may also be opposed by the resource agencies. They believe that the three phases have independent utility, the phases are subject to independent timelines, and have little advantage from physical contiguity. These parties believe that there may be a number of other potential sites for these facilities if sited independently, and that there is no compelling rationale for their co-location. Among these sites are locations within already developed Port properties, or at the Port of Vancouver immediately across the channel.
Agency consultation: At an informal level, development of this site (including by a previous owner) has been an issue for a number of years, and interaction between agencies has at least occurred at the informal and preliminary level. The Port also distributed scoping documentation early in project initiation. Metro has been coordinating with the Port for a number of years, which has facilitated the project's continued progress. For example, coordination with the MPO and the city has resulted in a coordinated process that is facilitating zoning and building permit issues. Similarly, FHWA's inclusion helped generate a viable solution (the new bridge) to more significant potential local transportation impacts.
However, a lack of internal resources prevented several agencies from engaging substantially in early action, and staff turnover may have negated institutional knowledge of earlier considerations. The Army Corps has staff restrictions on involvement prior to the formal permit process; the FWS described that staff workload prevents their early involvement unless the proponent makes it clear that such involvement is needed to help develop a project. FWS described the agency interaction as lacking genuine effort to engage in early discussions. While all formal requirements were followed, the project substantially changed from the NOI, and the impression was received that the community and other agencies were already on board in support of the project.
Integration of NEPA and state environmental review processes: The Port of Portland has concurrently pursued the NEPA and local processes. The Port intends to submit a Preliminary Draft EIS to the Army Corps of Engineers in four to five months, and anticipates that the Federal process will be complete in the fall of 2001. The Port estimates that the permits required for annexation to the City of Portland and the application of local zoning laws will be completed by September 2000.
Public involvement: The characterizations of this process have been widely divergent. The community of East Hayden Island has been aware of possible development for a number of years. One neighborhood's early discussions with FHWA and the Port led to formal inclusion of the new bridge as a Phase One project component in the NOI. Community views were also integrated into the planning process through an Advisory Committee, which included local citizens, environmental groups such as the Audubon Society, and multi-function agencies such as Metro (which has responsibilities including land use planning, open space, parks, and salmon recovery). The Port of Portland has used public meetings to present the plans for the intermodal facility and to give the public a forum in which they can voice their concerns. While not fully resolved, the Port hopes to be able to leverage its close coordination with the City and series of public participation activities into the successful resolution of environmental and community concerns. Negotiations are continuing to avoid litigation over the extent of impact avoidance and mitigation.
Current Status: This project has developed and the environmental review process and public involvement conducted in a manner that may substantially delay development of a new port facility. The Port's preference appears to be development that will allow maximum flexibility and expansion of their own [1] facilities in future years. Such an objective would be accomplished by maximizing development rights at West Hayden Island, still leaving several smaller existing port parcels vacant for future development. However, to accomplish this objective, delays have already been encountered, such as an approximate one-year incremental delay due to shifting the scope of the DEIS to incorporate all three project phases. The environmental review process has been considered by all parties to be a major influence shaping the project, including factors such as the size of the development and the possible inclusion of a bridge. Based on misgivings about the process, the FWS is strongly leaning toward opposing the DEIS based on inadequate "Purpose and Need" and Alternatives Analysis; they believe they will be joined by several other agencies in this position. Community and environmental groups have shifted from conditional acceptance to outright opposition of the project, and appear poised to litigate to prevent its occurrence.
1. Siting of some of the proposed development across the river where a more appropriate site may be already available has been encouraged by the Port of Vancouver, community groups, and the FWS, but dismissed by the Port of Portland as there may not be sufficient space to site all three potential phases.
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