The Land Gets Trashed
by PSU student Erin Atkins

   As the region's primary garbage disposal site, the landfill expanded as populations rose. By the 1970s the St. John's Landfill ran out of space. In 1975, Portland City Commissioner, Connie McCready approved increased waste disposal costs to help pay for a 55 acre expansion. The landfill's urban location limited expansion, and ultimately resulted in closure.

   Metro, Portland's regional government, took over landfill operation 1980. When Metro assumed full ownership, supported by environmentalists and State agencies, it immediately closed the landfill. Among Metro's most significant reasons were toxic chemical seeping into the Columbia Slough and Smith & Bybee Lakes. Engineers constructed a protective dike and capped the entire landfill.

   The slough surrounds the St. John's Landfill on all sides, and contamination directly affected local North Portland residents who, despite warning signs, rely on fish caught from the polluted slough as a food source. To prevent further toxic leaching into the Slough, plans are underway to contruct sloped rock and plant walls around the dump, and to plant 5,000 trees to stabilize bank erosion.