EPA signs Prospective Purchaser Agreement with Portland Botanical Gardens

On July 13, 2026 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed and fully executed a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with the Portland Botanical Gardens for a potential acquisition of the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site in North Portland.

The PPA is in the form of an administrative settlement, and as of August 1st, 2026, is posted at the Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/. The EPA’s webpage for the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site provides extensive background information on the site cleanup, remediation and ongoing maintenance and monitoring, as well as details of the recently signed PPA.  

The PPA follows two years of due diligence and outreach by the Portland Botanical Gardens. The project received overwhelming public support during a sixty-day formal comment period during a separate PPA process with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which was finalized and approved May 16, 2026. The DEQ PPA describes the specific conditions and requirements to acquire the site and develop it into botanical gardens, in addition to providing certain liability protections to the nonprofit organization. 

The EPA PPA centers on adherence to existing EPA requirements around operations, maintenance and reporting, and echoes many of the provisions in the DEQ PPA. The EPA PPA also specifies a settlement payment of $1,195,000 – the same amount as for the DEQ PPA – and provides liability protections for the botanical gardens. 

A thirty day public comment period extends through August 31, 2026. You may submit public comments through the EPA, and you can also download and review the full prospective purchaser agreement here.

DEQ PPA approved and signed!

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026 the Portland Botanical Gardens and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) signed a much anticipated Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) for the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site in North Portland.

Key requirements before the site can be purchased are PPAs from DEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As of today, the DEQ PPA has been signed, and the EPA PPA will soon be posted for a thirty-day comment period, and may be signed shortly afterwards. 

The agreement follows two years of due diligence and outreach, and resulted in overwhelming support submitted during DEQ’s sixty-day formal comment period (which ended January 30, 2026). The PPA describes the specific conditions and requirements to acquire the site and develop it into botanical gardens. Based on agreement terms, the Portland Botanical Gardens have up to a year to close on the property.

The PPA is in the form of a Consent Order, a document used by public agencies to enforce terms and actions around remediation and reuse of brownfields (including Superfund sites), and which gives to the Portland Botanical Gardens, should it acquire the property, certain liability protections related to the previous contamination.

Notable requirements in the PPA for Portland Botanical Gardens include:

  1. Demonstrate before closing the nonprofit has at least $3,000,000 in funds secured for initial development and operations
  2. Pay DEQ at closing $1,195,000 in compensation for previous and future cleanup (i.e., and remedial costs)
  3. Adhere to site development and use restrictions that ensure the cleanup infrastructure is not damaged and will remain protective of human health and the environment
  4. Build and maintain a ten-acre public greenspace that includes the Willamette River Greenway trail, interpretive native plantings, open gathering space, and access to the river
  5. Create and implement a Tribal Engagement Plan, and update and implement existing Community Engagement Plan
  6. Maintain habitat improvements to the conserved riparian forest
  7. Develop and implement an Integrated Pest Management Plan and Invasive Plant Screening Policy
  8. Conduct quarterly site monitoring and provide annual reports to DEQ
  9. Submit for DEQ approval the design and final construction drawings for all proposed development, and provide as-builts for all completed construction
  10. Maintain perimeter fencing and overall security of the site (fencing can be replaced and moved with DEQ approval), and do not allow activities that negatively impact remedial infrastructure

The $1,195,000 in compensation will go to the state industrial orphan site fund, and at DEQ’s discretion may be applied to further remedial actions or habitat improvements at the site. No proceeds will go to the existing owner, the McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Company.

The DEQ PPA also details DEQ’s ongoing obligations, including repair and maintenance of remedial infrastructure like the impermeable liner and associated underdrains, subsurface containment walls, monitoring and extraction wells,  and all components of the sediment cap that covers much of the property below the ordinary high water line of the Willamette River.

About PPAs

PPAs are agreements that articulate requirements of a purchaser to acquire a brownfield or Superfund site. Those requirements may include a financial payment or settlement, continued remedial work, ongoing monitoring, and other development limitations. One significant requirement for the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site is that a prospective purchaser must provide a substantial public benefit. In exchange for those requirements, the agreements provide liability protections to the prospective purchaser – in this case the Portland Botanical Gardens. 

PPAs are defined differently by the DEQ (and commensurate agencies in other states) and EPA.

From DEQ: 

A Prospective Purchaser Agreement is a legally binding agreement between DEQ and a prospective purchaser or lessee of real property. A PPA limits the purchaser’s or lessee’s liability to DEQ for environmental cleanup of the property. In return for this liability release, the PPA must provide the state with a substantial public benefit. The PPA does not provide protection from liability a purchaser or lessee may have under federal law or from liability for any new contamination that may occur after the purchaser or lessee acquires the property.

From EPA:

At some Superfund sites, it may be useful for prospective purchasers to enter into a settlement agreement with EPA to address liability concerns to foster and/or help further cleanup and redevelopment. Under an agreement such as a Prospective Purchaser Agreement, a purchaser or lessee does cleanup work and/or makes a payment toward EPA’s cleanup costs at the site in exchange for the federal government providing additional liability protections.

DEQ PPA – Background information

Portland Botanical Gardens recently completed a final draft Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in November 2025. This marked a significant milestone in the nearly two year effort to acquire the site.

The draft was publicly shared online. DEQ accepted comments from December 1st, 2025 through January 30, 2026, and afterwards will make a decision regarding PPA approval. Note: the PPA is a requirement before a purchase of the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site.

Proposal for botanical gardens

As described in the PPA, the Portland Botanical Gardens proposes to

“develop research and education focused botanical gardens on a portion of the property, as well as a public greenspace along the waterfront that will include a new segment of the Willamette River Greenway trail, interpretive native plant gardens, open gathering space, and access to the river.”

The PPA describes the conditions and requirements to acquire the site and to develop it into botanical gardens. A signed PPA is required for any future owner of the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site to ensure they maintain environmental safety and provide significant public benefits, both of which are key for DEQ’s approval of the sale.

The Conceptual Master Plan shared in September conveys this vision in diagramatic form, and the PPA describes in legal terms the conditions to implement the proposed Portland Botanical Gardens.

Conditions for purchase and operations

Notable requirements for Portland Botanical Gardens to purchase, develop, and operate at the property include: 

  1. Demonstrate the nonprofit has secured at least $3,000,000 in funds before closing for the initial development and operations of the gardens.
  2. Pay DEQ at closing $1,195,000 in compensation for previous and future cleanup remedial costs.
  3. Adhere to site development and use restrictions that ensure the cleanup infrastructure is not damaged and will remain protective of human health and the environment as designed.
  4. Build and maintain a 10 acre public greenspace with Willamette River Greenway trail, interpretive native plant gardens, open gathering space, and access to the river.
  5. Create and implement a Tribal Engagement Plan, and update and implement existing Community Engagement Plan.
  6. Conserve riparian forest and maintain habitat improvements. 
  7. Provide DEQ 200 sq ft of interior space and 5000 sq ft of exterior space in perpetuity.
  8. Conduct quarterly monitoring and provide annual reports to DEQ.
  9. Submit for DEQ approval 30%, 60%, and 100% design drawings and final construction drawings for all proposed development, and provide as-builts for all completed construction.
  10. Maintain perimeter fencing and overall security of the site (fencing can be replaced and moved with DEQ approval), and do not allow activities that negatively impact remedial infrastructure.

Importantly, the PPA also provides a release from liability for claims by the State of Oregon (under ORS 465.200 to 465.545 and 465.900, 466.640 and 468B.310) regarding existing hazardous substance releases at or from the property, and provides Portland Botanical Gardens with third-party liability protection.

Comment Period

DEQ conducted a formal comment period from December 1st, 2025 through January 30th, 2026. During that time, DEQ and Portland Botanical Gardens hosted three virtual information meetings where participants can ask questions and provide feedback.

  • Session 1: Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
    • Register to join on Zoom
    • Or join via phone by calling 253-215-8782 and entering Webinar ID: 856 5522 2770, Passcode: 939913.
  • Session 2: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
    • Register to join on Zoom
    • Or join via phone by calling 253-215-8782 and entering Webinar ID: 893 3073 3227, Passcode: 128576.
  • Session 3: Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
    • Register to join on Zoom
    • Or join via phone by calling 253-215-8782 and entering Webinar ID: 882 9136 4220, Passcode: 866692.

Written comments were submitted to Sarah Miller, DEQ Project Manager for the McCormick & Baxter site, by email, sarah.miller@deq.oregon.gov, or by mail:

Sarah Miller
Oregon DEQ
700 NE Multnomah St., Suite 600
Portland, OR 97232

Comments were due by Jan. 30, 2026 at 5 p.m. Once DEQ has reviewed and responded to all comments it will make a determination on the PPA. If approved, the Portland Botanical Gardens will have up to a year to close on the property. 

Learn more

Below are documents and links that provide a full picture of the PPA, including the actual draft final version, a press release from Portand Botanical Gardens and informational notice from DEQ. Note: the PPA is in the form of a Consent Order.

For inquiries or more information please email info@portlandbg.org. 

March 9, 2026 Update – Overwhelming Support during Formal Comment Period

The formal comment period for the Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) ended January 30th, 2026.

After reviewing the submitted comments, the DEQ stated that the Portland Botanical Gardens received overwhelming support for its proposal and the terms of the PPA. With only a few minor edits to clarify definitions, the PPA is likely to be signed in the near future.

We are so grateful for the many positive comments, as well as the incredibly thoughtful letters of support. We also want to thank the DEQ staff and the many advisors who helped the Portland Botanical Gardens reach this milestone.

A draft PPA with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will also be completed soon, and we will publicize the formal comment period for that document when ready.