US EPA Superfund Clean-up Program – Facilitation and Mediation

Warmhouse Beach Superfund Site

SERVICE AREA: Facilitation and Mediation

Warmhouse Beach, located in the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, was added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Priority List (NPL) in 2013. Since being added to the NPL list, EPA Region 10 has conducted a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study for the site and is currently in the process of determining the best approach for clean-up.

Project Description

Since 2016, Triangle has provided facilitation and mediation services to EPA Region 10 on the Warmhouse Beach Superfund site. Triangle facilitates public outreach meetings, technical conference calls, and in-person meetings between EPA and the Makah Tribe. Our services include process design, document preparation, meeting facilitation and mediation, and post meeting summaries and follow-up. Triangle also serves as a liaison between EPA and the Makah Tribe, providing government to government consultation and ensuring that differences in governmental operation have little to no impact on forward motion process.

Lower Duwamish Superfund Site

SERVICE AREA: Facilitation and Mediation

The Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW), a five-mile segment of Seattle’s Duwamish River located, was declared a Superfund Site in 2001.  EPA Region 10 and the Department of Ecology have been working to complete Remedial Investigation, Feasibility Study, and Record of Decision processes to determine the best method for clean-up.

Project Description

In 2016, Triangle was hired to facilitate a large group of stakeholders providing input to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as EPA conducted a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study, which resulted in a Record of Decision for the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW) cleanup. Triangle currently convenes and facilitates several standing groups working together to inform the Superfund cleanup process, including stakeholders working to implement the Record of Decision. Additionally, Triangle designs and facilitates a roundtable consisting of community groups, trustees, tribes, government agencies, potentially responsible parties, and other stakeholders associated with the Lower Duwamish Waterway to provide recommendations to EPA as it implements the clean-up of this site in Seattle, WA.

Portland Harbor Superfund Site

SERVICE AREA: Facilitation and Mediation

The Portland Harbor Superfund Site, an in-river portion of the lower Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, was declared a Superfund Site in 2000.  EPA Region 10 and the Oregon Department of Equality have been working to complete Remedial Investigation, Feasibility Study, and Record of Decision processes to determine the best method for clean-up.

Project Description

Triangle designs, facilitates, and documents community informational meetings and formal public meetings for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site in Portland, OR. Between 2016 and 2018, Triangle facilitated large-scale public meetings designed to maximize community participation by providing multiple options for public comment; translating meeting materials into multiple languages including Vietnamese, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese; and maintaining working relationships with over 40 community leaders in Portland. Triangle currently facilitates quarterly community leader meetings for a stakeholder group organized by EPA that includes the Oregon Department of Equality (DEQ), community advisory groups, and other individuals representing community-based organizations in Portland.