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Arcadia Paper Mills reports progress with DEQ, equipment replacement and power plans
Summary
Arcadia Paper Mills told the St. Helens council it has reached agreements with DEQ on documents going to public comment May 1, has begun commissioning assets and expects deliveries and power-substation work to enable a mill restart.
Craig Allen, representing Arcadia Paper Mills LLC, updated the St. Helens City Council on April 16 on efforts to restart the mill at the downtown site.
Allen said the company has reached understandings with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on legal documents that will be presented publicly May 1 as part of a prospective purchaser agreement intended to limit Arcadia’s liability for past contamination. He said the agreement will require the company to spend on preventative measures while environmental questions are resolved and that the public-comment step is upcoming: “May 1, that goes up for public comment.”
The presenter said Arcadia currently employs six full-time workers working on commissioning equipment and addressing vandalism and theft damage from the period after the mill’s shutdown. He said replacements for equipment removed by the prior operator, Cascades, are on order and expected to arrive in the next two months.
Arcadia is coordinating with Portland General Electric on a substation cold shutdown and readiness work required to restore reliable power to the site. Allen said the company expects the PGE steps and easements to proceed and that local machine shops and vendors are being used where possible.
Councilors and the presenter discussed timelines in general terms but no firm reopening date was announced. Allen characterized the next steps as clearing environmental and utility hurdles so the company can “rapidly start and go back up” when those matters are resolved. He also thanked the police chief for assistance with theft and vandalism response around the property.
No council action or formal approvals were recorded during the update; staff and Arcadia indicated they continue to negotiate easements and related agreements surrounding the substation and property parcels.
