Community Partner

United States Army Corps of Engineers

First Advisor

Joseph Maser

Date of Award

Summer 2018

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Professional Science Master in Environmental Science and Management

Department

Environmental Science and Management

Language

English

Subjects

Refuse and refuse disposal -- Bonneville Dam (Or and Wash), Waste minimization -- Bonneville Dam (Or and Wash), Government purchasing -- Environmental aspects, Green products -- Purchasing

DOI

10.15760/mem.2

Abstract

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District, has jurisdiction on three locks and four dams in the Columbia River basin. These sites "contribute to a water resource management system that provides flood risk management, power generation, water quality improvement, fish and wildlife habitat and recreation on the Columbia River and some of its tributaries". The Bonneville Lock and Dam (Bonneville Project) site lies on the Columbia River approximately 40 miles east from Portland, Oregon. Portions of the site have been declared a National Historic Landmark, from its origins in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program from the Public Works Administration project. The spillway, first powerhouse, and navigation lock were completed in 1938 with the second powerhouse completed in 1981 and a larger navigation lock completed in 1993. With its location on the Columbia River, the Bonneville Project also incorporates fish passages that allow Chinook salmon, Steelhead, and other fish species access to their historical habitat in the upper Columbia River Basin. The important location of the Bonneville Project, due to its proximity to Portland, Oregon and being situated on the Columbia River, lends the site to be vigilant of its use of chemicals that could negatively impact the surrounding area and the lower Columbia River.

While hazardous waste is thoroughly documented and labeled according to Bonneville Project's Waste Management Program to ensure compliance with 40 CFR Parts 260 through 279 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, characterization and approximate amount produced of non-hazardous waste is not known, and is one of the major focuses of this project. In the October 2016 to September 2017 fiscal year, USACE at Bonneville Project was directed to look into reducing their non-hazardous solid waste by 50%, construction and demolition (C&D) solid waste by 60%, and expand their environmentally preferable purchasing program to increase sustainability. With an emphasis on the Integrated Solid Waste Management program focusing on sustainable acquisition and incorporating a variety of diversion techniques to minimize the landfilling of solid waste, the need to understand the waste characterization and chemical use at Bonneville Project is needed. The characterization of non-hazardous waste is also needed to ensure compliance with USACE environmental compliance assessment program, which is incorporating compliance requirements from USACE Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Diversion and Materials Management Policy. With the added focus on sustainable acquisition and the location of the Bonneville Project on an ecologically important area, considering and potentially incorporating chemical products that are less harmful to the surrounding environment take on an added importance.

This project has two main objectives. The first objective of this project is to analyze the waste stream of the Bonneville Project to enable management to look at possible ways to reduce their non-hazardous solid waste by 50% and to establish conformance to USACE Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Diversion and Materials Management Policy. The second objective of this project is to conduct a green purchasing analysis with a focus on chemical products used at the Bonneville Project in order to potentially incorporate chemical products that are less harmful to the environment when used and to reduce the overall chemical count onsite.

Rights

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Comments

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Professional Science Master in Environmental Science and Management.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26253

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