During the winter of 2007-2008, Two powerful floods occurred on the Nehalem River in Northwestern Oregon. The December 2007 and January 2008 floods scattered debris throughout the Nehalem River Valley with the majority of known damage occurring in the vicinity of Vernonia and Mist, OR. Debris identified consists of common household materials such as plastic containers, wood and tarps to hazardous materials including fuel and chemical drums, fertilizers, and paint.
The headwaters of the Nehalem River are located approximately 10 miles west of the Town of Timber, OR. The river then flows through or near several towns, including the towns of Timber (river mile [RM] 111), Vernonia (RM 91), Mist (RM 72), and Elsie (RM 39) before emptying into Nehalem Bay at the town of Nehalem (river miles are derived from www.topozone.com).
On April 1, 2008 at 1000 hours, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) Marc Callaghan, 6 STARTs, 1 ERRS as well as Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's (ODEQ) State On-Scene Coordinator (SOSC) and ODEQ's subcontractor, NRC Environmental Corporation, mobilized to Vernonia, Oregon (the Site) to assess and remove hazardous materials. START mobilized the Seattle based Command Post vehicle, the Seattle based Level A truck, the Portland based Emergency Response Van, the Portland based Emergency Response Trailer, and the Portland based Tahoe SUV. The Incident Command Post (ICP) area is set up next to the Columbia County Road Department building at 1625 N. Washington Avenue.
Two land-based hazardous waste/material (HAZMAT) reconnaissance (recon) teams were deployed at approximately 1100 hours to 1330 hours from Nehalem RM 100 to RM 83 around Vernonia. Maggie Peyton with the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council (UNWC) and Greg Mastola, a local NRC Environmental Services Company employee, accompanied the recon teams to provide local insight regarding HAZMAT locations. Several areas of concern were identified where debris has been deposited. GPS coordinates were collected at these locations for later importation into GIS. Two additional HAZMAT recon teams were deployed at approximately 1230 hours to 1345 hours to search for HAZMAT along residential streets in Vernonia. These two teams also found containers of concern.
EPA and ODEQ also worked on setting up a household hazardous waste (HHW) drop off site. Residents will be encouraged to collect and drop-off any HHW which may have been disturbed during the floods.
The ICS operational period has been set at 24 hours, beginning each day at 0000 hours and ending at 2400 hours. USEPA and ODEQ have formed a Unified Command (UC). Four branches will operate: recon, recovery, hazard categorization (HAZ-CAT), and emergency response (ER). The ER branch will staff the ICP and manage data generated during the response.
Further recon and removal activities are planned for tomorrow. Two teams will be deployed, one from land, and one from boat. These teams will identify HAZMAT and collect smaller containers (such as gas cans and consumer product containers).
The teams will collect samples from larger containers (such as drums and bulk storage containers) when it is safe and feasible to do so. The samples will be transported back to the staging area, and the original container will be marked and geographic coordinates will be determined by GPS.
Some containers may not be able to be safely opened if they are tightly sealed without identification markings and therefore present an unknown vapor hazard. These types of containers would require subsequent re-evaluation with a team equipped with Level B supplied air.
Once chemical hazards have been evaluated, plans will be developed to remove larger containers.
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