Union Pacific Railyard Cleanup, Eugene Oregon

Railroad operations, according to the Department of Environmental Quality in Oregon, have been going on for over 100 years. The activities conducted at the Eugene Railyard over the past century have resulted in environmental contamination from the various hazardous substances used there.

Union Pacific, no longer uses the railyard near Trainsong and River Road communities, however still links cars to trains and fuels them as well. The DEQ has determined that the soil and groundwater contamination within the railyard mainly consists of hydrocarbons, industrial solvents, and metals. And outside the railyard quote "low levels of solvents are found in groundwater underlying portions of the Trainsong and River Road neighborhoods."

Positive
"Union Pacific, DEQ, and the Oregon Public Health Division are continuing to study the human health significance of off-site contamination through additional sampling and data evaluation." -DEQ

Negative
"DEQ believes that well water in the River Road and Trainsong neighborhoods is safe for outdoor uses, including irrigation, washing, and filling of outdoor swimming pools. All homes in these neighborhoods are connected to the municipal water supply, making indoor tap water safe to drink." -DEQ

I have one big problem with this statement due to the fact that in June 2006 the DEQ had a different stance on the subject: "Data generated for the Risk Assessment suggests that off-site groundwater contamination could exceed DEQ cleanup levels for a few nearby Trainsong and River Road residents using well water for outdoor use." Or in other words the groundwater was not safe. This was the previous conclusion under Kennedy/Jenks Consultants from Portland hired by Union Pacific. In my opinion, since the results were not in favor of UP, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants were dropped, and a new consultant group based in Houston, Texas was hired by the name of CH2M Hill. There motto is "Solutions without Boundaries". In other words, we'll get the results you want no matter what! And thats exactly what happened. The new results from CH2M Hill are in favor of UP, and the DEQ and DHS are backing it up.

Union Pacific is nothing more than a greedy corporation that is unwilling to take responsibility for its environmental impacts. These impacts have been literally poisoning the air and water of nearby residents for years. Why can't money be raised to hire a group to conduct independent studies not paid for by Union Pacific? Why should the communities of Trainsong and River Road suffer the blight from the Eugene Railyard? If nothing else, is it possible for the city or state to fund an urban renewable project that can help beautify the surrounding region?