Hayden clean-up is nearly complete

Hayden Homes of Redmond has nearly completed the clean-up of a former industrial dump on the 40-acre site where the company plans to build 400 homes in west Sisters.

The company discovered the dump site, containing logging camp trash and about 50 barrels of “Bunker C” oil, and reported it to authorities in May. Clean-up work has been underway since.

Toby Scott, with the Bend office of the state Department of Environmental Quality, said last week that “the majority of the contaminated material has been excavated out of the ground. There is still a very small pocket along the southern edge of the property that we’re talking to the City of Sisters about.”

He said it’s uncertain whether the “pocket” will be moved because it lies under a city water line.

“So there’s a bit of work to do there.” Scott said, “and I presume we’ll probably get that pocket removed before we give the OK to Hayden Homes to do any kind of backfill. It doesn’t have to be removed but if not we’ll put some deed restrictions on the property and the city is not too keen on that idea.”

Scott said the area contains high levels of petro-hydrocarbons (heavy oil residue) and “if someone were to dig into them, or the water line overlying this material were to leak, it could cause some problems down the road.”

Representatives of the City of Sisters, the DEQ and Hayden Homes plan to discuss the issue Thursday afternoon.

The company has excavated about 10,000 cubic yards of material that will be hauled away. “It includes soil and some general refuse that was encountered mostly from (former timber operations) — cables, brake pads, various industrial items,” Scott said. “The goal was to get a very clean hole and they’ve achieved that. They’ve dug out more than they needed to. They wanted to go over and above because this will be a residential development and they want to do the right thing.”

The 50 drums that were discovered earlier have all been packed and shipped off to “a facility to handle that,” Scott said. Much of the rest of the excavated material will be hauled to local landfills. Some that is clean enough will go “back into the hole” and some will probably be placed in a specific area designated for open space “with the knowledge that that area will never be built on or excavated into.”

Scott said that if it’s decided that the contaminated material under the water line must be moved then “the issue will come down to who’s going to pay for it. Who will pay if the water line has to be shut down and capped and cut and replaced to get to this material? That’s kind of out of my jurisdiction. That’s between Hayden and the city.”