Project FAQs (Updated 11/4/2026)

Aerial photos and park neighbor input support the idea that contaminated fill soil was placed on the park site prior to the City of Eugene’s purchase of the property for a park in the early 1980s. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) could not link the park contamination to contamination at the J.H, Baxter site in the initial analysis.

Dioxins are a group of chemicals that are formed during industrial processes such as the bleaching process in pulp and paper making. They are also present in some wood treating formulations and can be generated during the burning of organic materials, including by wildfires. Studies have shown that exposure to dioxins increases the risk of several types of cancer in people. Dioxins in the soil at Trainsong Park are bound to the soil particles and are not expected to contaminate groundwater in the park or surrounding neighborhood.

Trainsong Park soils have been found to contain dioxins at concentrations above DEQ acceptable risk levels. DEQ’s acceptable risk levels are protective, and they assume that every visit to the park involves direct soil-to-skin contact and accidental ingestion (eating) or inhalation (breathing) of soil. Areas with the highest concentrations of dioxins have been fenced off.

Many people visiting the park do not come into contact with park soil. Pavement, grass, vegetation, and imported sand and bark chips are all considered to be free from this contamination and act as a barrier to direct soil exposure.

You can limit your exposure by avoiding contact with bare soil and washing your hands prior to eating, drinking, or touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

The original 2023 soil remediation plan recommended full excavation of the top 12 inches of soil from the areas with high levels of dioxins, removing it off-site, and replacing it with clean soil. In March 2026, additional soil testing determined that soil contamination in some areas of the park goes down 24 inches or more which required the redevelopment of design alternatives, and a new recommendation. The current design proposal recommends consolidation of some on-site contaminated soil under a landscape berm, and then capping of the berm and remaining contaminated soil areas with 12 inches of gravel and 12 inches of topsoil. The goal of the design is to create a protective condition while maintaining and enhancing the park landscape to be welcoming and safe for all visitors.

DEQ performed the initial soil testing that identified the dioxins in some areas of Trainsong Park. DEQ used U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding to perform that testing, and that funding ran out in June 2023. The City then voluntarily entered the site into a DEQ program for their continued oversight of the planning and implementation of cleanup efforts and the DEQ will continue as the regulating agency through construction.

The City of Eugene was awarded a $1.56 million grant from the EPA Brownfields Program in May 2024. Prior to this the City used park capital funds to work with a consultant to further understand the contamination issues and apply for the EPA grant.

About $1.2 million of the grant funding is dedicated for remedial construction work.

If the City were to excavate, haul off, and replace a full 24 inches of contaminated soil, it would cost about double the original budget associated with the original 12-inch capping plan. As a result, the recommended design now proposes consolidation of contaminated soil into an onsite landscape mound that’s capped with 24 inches of clean material. Areas of contaminated soil that are remaining will also receive this 24-inch cap, but no soil will be hauled off site. This will create significant savings to the project while still realizing a protective final condition.

It’s different in each area, but in some cases the contamination levels are higher below the surface than at the surface. Soil contamination testing has not occurred below 24 inches as this is the depth required for a protective cap. Importantly, if there is contaminated soil shallower than 24 inches, it’s not going anywhere as these chemicals are bound to soil particles. As such, there is no groundwater contamination or movement expected of these chemicals underground off the park site.

Dioxin chemicals are bound to the soil particles, so they are not mobile in water or biologically available to plants. As a result, plants are not useful in decontaminating these types of chemicals in soil, but dioxins are also not present in existing plant foliage.

The draft cleanup plan was part of the City of Eugene’s grant application to the EPA for funding and the City was able to incorporate public comment into the original proposed cleanup plan for Trainsong Park.

After additional testing was completed in March 2026 to finalize the design plan for soil remediation, the City hosted the first of several public meetings to share the new test results on May 28, 2026. Using feedback from that meeting, the City then developed a new design proposal that was presented at a second public meeting on Sept. 24, 2026. This proposal is now open for public comments on the DEQ website and all comments received by Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. will be considered prior to final approval of the project.

Community questions and comments are essential to the design and success of the project, and we anticipate at least one more community meeting prior to the start of construction in summer 2027.

The basketball courts, playgrounds, baseball field, and skate park currently remain open. Portions of the park will need to remain closed until cleanup activities are complete. The City of Eugene has been working closely with DEQ and the EPA to finalize the project timeline, and we now expect the work to be completed in summer 2027. The construction project is expected to take 13 weeks to complete we expect that the whole park will then reopen to the public in fall 2027. Park renovations are now planned for summer 2028, which will close some areas of the park temporarily, and all work should be completed in fall 2028.

We heard clearly that neighbors are concerned about dust exposure during construction, which is a legitimate and valid concern. The EPA must approve a Health and Safety Plan as part of approvals for the project, and the plan will include many controls for limiting contaminated soil erosion and migration. This includes provision of water trucks for dust control, cleaning of construction equipment and tires prior to leaving the site, tightly securing truck loads, and much more. The City is committed to transparency on this issue and is considering additional in-home measures for residents adjacent to the park including provision of air conditioners and air purifiers. Staff will be providing more details and regular updates on this issue as the design project moves forward.

The current plan is to have construction vehicles enter and exit the park site from Edison Street.  The condition of the street surface will be evaluated before and after construction and staff have committed to consulting with our colleagues in Public Works Surface Maintenance to determine any potential impacts of construction traffic.  Edison is classified as a local street and is improved with curb gutters and sidewalks in some places.  If repairs are required, the City will coordinate closely with Surface Maintenance on how we can accomplish this.

There is a separate project being managed out of the Engineering Division of Public Works to examine solutions to the park flooding problem at Trainsong Park. The issue was more recently exacerbated by the blocking of a storm drainpipe under the railroad tracks in the northeast corner of the site and the City understands the impacts to neighboring properties. It’s especially acute during big storm events that produce a lot of rain in a short time frame, which has become a more common occurrence over time in Oregon.

A stormwater management design will now be included in the design of the project and will be shared with the community as it’s further refined.

There is not currently funding for residential property soil testing as part of the park remediation project. The DEQ and the City are working in close partnership on this project and community questions and concerns on this topic are a consistent theme in our community discussions. Understanding individual residents’ concerns and goals around this type of testing will be an important factor in determining next steps as the testing is resource intensive and, ultimately, may or may not be helpful in providing the assurance property owners may be seeking.

Please contact the Oregon DEQ as they have resources available for free well water testing in some areas of the Trainsong neighborhood.  You can email Sarah Eagle at sarah.eagle@deq.oregon.gov for additional information and help.