McCormick Park Cleanup and Education Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 4, 2023

St. Helens, Ore. The City of St. Helens invites the St. Helens community to an educational and hands-on pollution prevention event at McCormick Park on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, from 10 a.m. to noon. Pollution Prevention at McCormick Park is a family-friendly event that will teach the importance of keeping mercury and other pollutants out of our waterways and provide attendees with an opportunity to put their new knowledge to the test with a cleanup activity in the park.

This event is hosted by the City of St. Helens with assistance from the Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District, Scappoose Bay Watershed Council, Columbia County OSU Extension Office, and Hudson Garbage Service. Agencies will give brief presentations which include topics such as pollution prevention, conservation of native plant species, best practices to prevent polluting local waterways, and environmentally friendly approaches to agriculture, small farms, and homegrown horticulture.

Agencies will also have booths set up at the event. People can learn more about the services that these groups provide to the community and ask questions.

Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a cleanup activity in the park by picking up trash around Milton Creek. Garbage bags and gloves will be provided for those who wish to participate.

This event is part of the City of St. Helens’ Mercury Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan. This plan’s goal is to improve water quality and restore the beneficial uses of surface waters in St. Helens through the reduction of mercury in the water. The plan is administered by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act. For more information about the City of St. Helens Mercury TMDL Implementation Plan, visit the City’s website at www.sthelensoregon.gov/engineering/page/protecting-our-environment.

McCormick Park is located at 475 S. 18th Street, St. Helens, Oregon, 97051.

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For further information regarding the Pollution Prevention at McCormick Park event, please contact Communications Officer Crystal King at cking@sthelensoregon.gov.