Camas seeks high mill cleanup level

Camas city officials have asked the state Department of Ecology to require cleanup at the Georgia-Pacific paper mill site extensive enough to make it safe for housing and other uses beyond heavy industry.

The Camas City Council passed a resolution Feb. 18 stating that city leaders “deeply value the role the G-P mill has played in the city’s history and recognize its continued significance as an economic driver,” but want to ensure the 661-acre downtown Camas site has a range of redevelopment possibilities should G-P ever decide to close the paper mill.

Founded in 1883, the Camas paper mill has been owned and operated by G-P, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, since 2000. In 2018, G-P announced it was shuttering the Camas pulp mill and much of its paper-making operations. Today, the mill runs one paper line and employs about 150 workers.

The council’s resolution points to the mill site as “one of the primary gateways into the city,” and notes the site’s prime location on the shores of the Washougal and Columbia rivers, adjacent to Camas’ historic downtown shopping and dining district.

“Given the site’s legacy and its importance to our community,” the resolution states, “it is imperative to ensure the cleanup efforts are fully protective of human health and the environment and preserve future private and public redevelopment options, including … a broad range of future uses from residential and commercial development to natural and recreational spaces.”

Ecology and G-P have been working together on a contamination investigation and environmental cleanup plan at the Camas mill since 2021. The city’s resolution asks the state to approve a cleanup level that would “provide the greatest flexibility of uses in the future and safeguard public health and environmental quality.”

If Ecology decides G-P must clean the site to a heavy industrial level, city officials fear it will “significantly limit the site’s future development potential and likely preclude residential or natural area uses, restricting the ability to adapt to changing community needs.”

Ecology is expected to decide the mill cleanup level when the state enters into its “cleanup action plan” phase in 2027 or later.

City officials’ push for a higher level of environmental cleanup aligns with feedback gathered by the Camas Mill Cleanup Community Advisory Group, created in 2021 to give the public a voice in the lengthy cleanup process.

According to the advisory group, the majority of the Camas community supports efforts to clean the mill site to a degree that would someday allow for mixed-use, residential, commercial and other nonindustrial uses.

The resolution acknowledged the environmental cleanup process is complicated and could take several years or even decades to complete, but told Ecology there is a “critical” need to “take steps today to secure the broadest range of possibilities for this key property.”

Camas City Administrator Doug Quinn said last week that city leaders reached out to G-P representatives before bringing the resolution to the city council.

“We notified them earlier (about the resolution) and maintain an open connection with them,” Quinn said.

Ecology also is reviewing G-P’s permit to discharge pollutants into water bodies. According to the community advisory group, the mill’s draft renewal permit contains more stringent wastewater discharge limits and could require a study to see if the mill is contributing to the toxic chemicals known as PFAS that have been found in the city’s public drinking water system, as well as requirements for weekly rainfall monitoring and annual E. coli monitoring.

Public hearing

Ecology will host a virtual public hearing on the permit at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, with comments due by March 13. For more information, visit bit.ly/41uOxyx.