Willamette Week| News| Environment

To state Rep. Randy Leonard, it's simple: The Columbia Slough and Willamette River need to be cleaned up. Instead of action, however, he's seeing an endless stream of stakeholder meetings, task forces, hearings, behind-the-scenes negotiations and foot dragging.

"The state hasn't done all it can," he says. "Private industry hasn't done all it can."

Leonard aims to change that. This week he plans to distribute the drafts of two bills that would crack down on urban polluters.

Leonard seems an unlikely conservationist. As a state senator from 1993-98, his environmental ratings were among the lowest of Portland Democrats. But Leonard grew up in North Portland, and his senate district included the slough. He's tired of people treating the sluggish waterway as a toxic-waste dump. So, with the conviction of the born-again, the former firefighter is crashing his way into a conversation that's been going on for years. It remains to be seen if he emerges a fool or a hero.

Leonard is working on two bills, one of which focuses on the Willamette River. Among other provisions, it would require the state to buy Ross Island and turn it into a park. The land is currently owned and mined by Ross Island Sand and Gravel. In addition, until recently the Port of Portland was sending toxic dredge spoils to be stored on the island. Leonard wants all mining and dumping to be stopped. His bill also includes provisions to completely eliminate sewage overflow into the river and other steps to head off the pending Superfund listing of a portion of the Willamette.

The other bill is aimed at helping the slough. Forced by the feds to reduce the amount of airplane de-icing material they dump in the slough every winter, Port officials are considering diverting a portion of the glycol to the Columbia River. Leonard's bill, as drafted, would force the Port to divert its toxic runoff to the city sewer system, where it could be treated. "The Port has been the bad boy on the block," he says. "They need to be spanked."

Leonard's disciplinarian zeal is raising concern on three fronts.

First, Leonard is no scientist, and his proposals show it. For example, the Willamette and the slough are beleaguered by contaminated bottom sediment. Leonard proposes dredging both waterways. Some studies, however, suggest that it would be better not to disturb the river bottom and instead cap the polluted sediments.

Second, Leonard has left the key players in the dark. He hasn't taken his proposals to Port director Mike Thorne, City Commissioner Erik Sten or environmental leaders such as Jeff Allen, executive director of the Oregon Environmental Council and a member of the board of directors of the governor's Willamette Restoration Initiative.

Third, it's possible Leonard is being used. He's been warned that the support rural legislators have given him may be because they see an opportunity to slap Portland with the same kind of environmental laws loggers and ranchers have been fighting for years.

Leonard's heard the criticism. On the science end, he admits he's no expert. "I know just enough to be dangerous on this stuff," he says. Common sense tells him that something needs to be done--and quickly. That's why he's not troubled by support from rural lawmakers. "If that's what it takes," he says, "I'll invite them over for dinner."

Leonard says he's aware that many of his proposals will have to be negotiated, fleshed out or possibly scrapped in favor of an alternative. But he says the most important thing is that something is done soon--and done out in the open.

"I want the debate to occur not in Mike Thorne's office, not in the EPA office, so we can hear what the alternatives are--what's good, what's bad--and force a decision," Leonard says.

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Willamette Week | originally published January 13, 1999