State Strikes New Deal With Ross Island Sand & Gravel

The two parties have agreed on a completion date of 2033 and a much larger performance bond.

ROW YOUR BOAT: Watercraft along Ross Island. (Mick Hangland-Skill)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Ross Island Sand & Gravel, the company that mined the Willamette River bottom around its namesake island for 76 years, ending in 2001, has struck a new deal with the Oregon Department of State Lands to refill the hole it left behind.

RISG and the state renegotiated a 2002 fill permit and have agreed on a completion date of 2033 and a much larger performance bond—increased from $500,000 to $6 million. That’s a big deal because, as WW has reported, RISG owner Dr. Robert Pamplin’s financial situation has grown precarious. The new permit also calls for increased shallow-water habitat enhancement.

Bob Sallinger, conservation director of Willamette Riverkeeper and a longtime participant in talks over the island’s future, says his group is satisfied with the new permit but still wants to see the island become public land some day.

“We are pleased that DSL was able to secure a hard end date for the reclamation work, interim benchmarks to measure progress, and a much higher bond to help ensure that the work will get completed,” Sallinger says. “It has already taken far too long, but this helps ensure that the restoration work will finally be completed by 2034.”

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