CALL TO ACTION
The City of Camas has a long and storied history involving the manufacturing of paper for well over a century. Many would say this history truly creates an identity for this city as the high school's mascot is a "Mean Machine" and the team name is the "Papermakers."
Beyond this identity, the City has long enjoyed the benefits of a stable source of tax revenue from the GP Mill, a source of livelihood for many of its residents and some might even say a hope for a future that not only employs people and provides an honest day's wage for its workers, but would also contribute to the town in meaningful ways, giving back to its community through various sponsorships, scholarships or grants.
In 2018, the GP Mill shuttered most of its operations, cutting over 300 positions and refocusing on the production of paper towels. A modest reinvestment in infrastructure two years later led to a more sustainable production line that no longer involved the environmentally sensitive production of pulp on site. It was clear by 2020 and the handwriting was on the wall that the Mill's future was probably not what folks once dreamed it could be. In 2021, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) entered into an agreement with Georgia Pacific to begin remediating the site, laying the groundwork for a better future for over 600 acres of downtown waterfront property.
Camasonians can play a potentially impactful role in helping to shape a better future here and it's vitally important they understand the issues at stake with the GP Mill and the future of our downtown. We have created this page and supporting pages to help you learn about critical issues involving the Mill.
One issue is the timely cleanup and remediation of more than a century of legacy wastes - especially in the surface soils, groundwater and nearby channels to the Camas Slough and Columbia River. This is all being overseen by Ecology, but there is still no final workplan in place to remediate the property after nearly THREE years!
Secondly, the City faces a drinking water problem that is contaminated with per and poly-fluouroalkyl substances (PFAS) which historically were used at the Mill. Is there a connection to past Mill use of these forever chemicals? We simply will not know until a proper investigation takes place. To get involved and show advocacy for a proper cleanup, we have set up a Call to Action campaign to urge Ecology and the City to do more in identifying the source of the contamination, and designating the underlying groundwater as potable.
Last, this legacy of potential contamination will not be fully remediated to an unrestricted use unless the property carries an appropriate zoning designation that would preserve uses such as mixed commercial/residential property. This zoning designation is a key to arresting urban sprawl by re-vitalizing existing properties within our urban growth area. To this end, we have submitted a call to action page and zoning overlay proposal to the Community Advisory Group of the Downtown Camas Association that can be found here.
Beyond this identity, the City has long enjoyed the benefits of a stable source of tax revenue from the GP Mill, a source of livelihood for many of its residents and some might even say a hope for a future that not only employs people and provides an honest day's wage for its workers, but would also contribute to the town in meaningful ways, giving back to its community through various sponsorships, scholarships or grants.
In 2018, the GP Mill shuttered most of its operations, cutting over 300 positions and refocusing on the production of paper towels. A modest reinvestment in infrastructure two years later led to a more sustainable production line that no longer involved the environmentally sensitive production of pulp on site. It was clear by 2020 and the handwriting was on the wall that the Mill's future was probably not what folks once dreamed it could be. In 2021, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) entered into an agreement with Georgia Pacific to begin remediating the site, laying the groundwork for a better future for over 600 acres of downtown waterfront property.
Camasonians can play a potentially impactful role in helping to shape a better future here and it's vitally important they understand the issues at stake with the GP Mill and the future of our downtown. We have created this page and supporting pages to help you learn about critical issues involving the Mill.
One issue is the timely cleanup and remediation of more than a century of legacy wastes - especially in the surface soils, groundwater and nearby channels to the Camas Slough and Columbia River. This is all being overseen by Ecology, but there is still no final workplan in place to remediate the property after nearly THREE years!
Secondly, the City faces a drinking water problem that is contaminated with per and poly-fluouroalkyl substances (PFAS) which historically were used at the Mill. Is there a connection to past Mill use of these forever chemicals? We simply will not know until a proper investigation takes place. To get involved and show advocacy for a proper cleanup, we have set up a Call to Action campaign to urge Ecology and the City to do more in identifying the source of the contamination, and designating the underlying groundwater as potable.
Last, this legacy of potential contamination will not be fully remediated to an unrestricted use unless the property carries an appropriate zoning designation that would preserve uses such as mixed commercial/residential property. This zoning designation is a key to arresting urban sprawl by re-vitalizing existing properties within our urban growth area. To this end, we have submitted a call to action page and zoning overlay proposal to the Community Advisory Group of the Downtown Camas Association that can be found here.