Steel Mill Expansion – Portland, OR
An existing steel mill was looking to
expand operations by constructing a large pipe rolling mill on their property. In order to make the planned new pipe rolling mill work efficiently, rail service to the mill needed to be rerouted into the location of two existing inert material landfills. At the same time, the mill was involved with the agency to undergo a voluntary source control process to limit their input into the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. CRETE principals provided engineering, environmental, geotechnical and permitting services to modify the two solid waste landfills and managed design and construction of end of pipe stormwater treatment as a source control measure on the site.
Landfill relocation was complicated by the requirement that the project be designed and permitted with the State agency, and bid and constructed within a year to accommodate the aggressive schedule for getting the proposed new pipe rolling mill online to meet order demands. Landfill reconstruction was completed within the tight time frame required and within the allotted budget for the work.
Stormwater system upgrades were implemented to be consistent with source control for the ultimate environmental cleanup of the site. The program’s design and implementation was an interactive process with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and it was executed while maintaining and accommodating key mill operations. The end-of-pipe stormwater treatment system includes wet well collection areas near former outfall discharge points, chemical treatment, pump stations to transport treatment water to a settling basin, and discharge back to existing outfall after solids settle in the basin. The remaining two stormwater basins were addressed with stormwater BMPs and infiltration.
Work Performed
- Regulatory negotiations – DEQ
- Geotechnical analysis and reporting
- Permitting – solid waste, wetlands, grading, construction stormwater
- Site cleanup and development coordination
- Construction plans and specifications
- Construction oversight
- Stormwater system design
Value Added
- Negotiated off-site wetland mitigation to provide an adequate development footprint
- Completed permitting on a very tight time schedule by amending mill permits
- Performed geotechnical analyses of the rail bed and landfill on the same tight schedule
- Completed all work on schedule to allow mill expansion
- Designed stormwater system to criteria more stringent than local codes to address potential contribution to the Superfund site