Request for Comments Proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement for 105 N Main Street in Newberg

Request for Comments Proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement for 105 N Main Street in Newberg Comments due: 5 p.m., Friday, April 2, 2021 Project location: 105 N Main Street, Newberg Proposal: The Department of Environmental Quality seeks comments on its proposed Consent Judgment for a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with Balding Buffalo LLC for the property located at l05 N Main Street in Newberg. Balding Buffalo, LLC is acquiring the property from the current owner and plans to use the property for commercial offices. The property was historically used since the 1890s for various residential and commercial purposes including a carpentry shop, meat store, furniture repair store, auto repair services, gasoline service station, battery service store, plumbing shop, woodworking academy, winery, trailer rental facility, steel fabrication and welding supplies store. A release of lead occurred inside the building from the battery servicing operations and the gas station left petroleum hydrocarbons in soil near the SE corner of the property. The property has been listed for sale since 2019, but has been unable to be sold due to the presence of the existing lead and gasoline-related contamination. Balding Buffalo, LLC plans to remediate the residual unsafe levels of lead on the interior floors of the building. Residual gasoline contamination in soil and groundwater beneath the southern portion of the property is below DEQ risk-based screening levels. Balding Buffalo, LLC intends to remodel the property for commercial office use. DEQ created the prospective purchaser agreement program in 1995 through amendments to the state’s Environmental Cleanup Law. The prospective purchaser agreement is a tool that expedites the cleanup of contaminated property and encourages property transactions that would otherwise not likely occur because of the liabilities associated with purchasing a contaminated site. The proposed Consent Judgment will provide Balding Buffalo, LLC with a release from liability for claims by the state under Oregon Revised Statutes 465.200 to 465.545, as well as 465.990, 466.640 and 468B.310, regarding existing hazardous substance releases at or from the property. The proposed Consent Judgment will also provide Balding Buffalo, LLC with third party liability protection. How to comment: Send comments to DEQ Project Manager Bryn Thoms at 165 E Seventh St., Suite 100, Eugene, OR 97401-3049 or bryn.thoms@deq.state.or.us. For more information, contact the project manager at 541-687-7424 or 971-563-7298. Find information about requesting a review of DEQ project files at: https://oregondeq.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(eytasuacdrcozbj4xjgu1f43))/supporthome.aspx The next step: DEQ will consider all public comments received by the date and time stated above before making a final decision regarding the proposed prospective purchaser agreement. Alternative formats: Documents can be provided upon request in an alternate format for individuals with disabilities or in a language other than English for people with limited English skills. To request a document in another format or language, call DEQ in Portland at 503-229-5696, or toll-free in Oregon at 1-800-452-4011, ext. 5696; or email deqinfo@deq.state.or.us. Publish March 3, 2021 NG194555

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