Millpond Crossing

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Millpond Crossing

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Millpond Crossing

Millpond Crossing Millpond Crossing Millpond Crossing

 Bringing quality, affordable new homes to the people of Philomath, Oregon. 

Millpond Crossing

Millpond Crossing Millpond Crossing Millpond Crossing

 Bringing quality, affordable new homes to the people of Philomath, Oregon. 

About Millpond Crossing

Who We Are

 Millpond Crossing is a 212-lot residential development of affordably priced single-family homes and townhomes in Philomath, Oregon. As of May 2022, 80 of the lots have been developed, 61 homes have been built and all 61 of the homes have been sold. The remaining homes, as well as a community park and related infrastructure, are expected to be completed by the end of 2025. 

Builder

 MPC Builders LLC is a family-owned and -operated residential development and construction company. It was founded in 2019 in Philomath, Oregon, by Levi Miller to oversee the development of Millpond Crossing. 

Mission

 To develop a new residential subdivision in Philomath, Oregon, that will deliver a total of 212 new, affordably priced single-family homes and townhomes, associated infrastructure, and a community park. 

Challenge

  From the 1950s to the 1980s, the site that is now home to Millpond Crossing had been used as a sawmill and lumber processing facility. As a result of that prior use, methane has been detected in certain locations on the site, largely near two former ponds that had been filled with wood debris and organic material. The methane was detected during construction, after Millpond Crossing acquired the site nearly and had already been given approval to begin development and construction. 

Solution

  MPC Builders has been working with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality throughout the development process, including enrolling in the agency’s Voluntary Cleanup program in 2018. MPC Builders removed the organic material from the footprint of existing homes during the course of construction, and installed ventilation systems, monitors and alarms in all homes. MPC Builders continues to regularly monitor site conditions. Future phases of construction will include removal of all organic material prior to construction and replacing it with clean structural fill, thus negating any methane concerns.

The Numbers

  • 1701 Chapel Drive, Philomath, Oregon – Address of Millpond Crossing development. 
  • 80 – Number of lots developed as of May 2022.
  • 61 – Number of single-family homes built and sold as of May 2022. 
  • 31 – Number of acres for the Millpond Crossing site. 
  • 212 – Total number of housing units – single-family homes and townhomes – planned for the site. 
  • 2,600 – Linear feet of road developed as of May 2022. 
  • 1 – Community park planned for the neighborhood. 
  • 0 – Instances of methane detection in crawlspaces or garages of the new homes. 
  • $250,000-$400,000 – Price range of new homes in Millpond Crossing as of March 2022. 
  • $440,000 – Median home price in Philomath, Oregon, as of March 2022. 

Business Oregon's Brownfield Assistance

MPC Builders applied for, and received, loan funding from Business Oregon's Brownfield Redevelopment Fund. The Brownfield Redevelopment Fund is funded by the Oregon State Lottery Funds and administered by the Oregon Business Development Department (Business Oregon).

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us at methaneinfo@millpondcrossing.net if you cannot find an answer to your question.

When Millpond initially acquired the property and began working with the DEQ through the department’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, there were no requirements to test for methane or other biogases at the site. Additionally, initial environmental due diligence reports did not indicate that methane or other biogases would be a concern. In fact, there are no clearly defined rules or regulations regarding methane mitigation available to builders in Oregon. Because Millpond had not been made aware of any concerns related to biogases, Millpond undertook construction in normal course and in accordance with all required approvals before methane was detected on site. It was only after DEQ requested testing for methane that the gas was discovered on site. As a result, mitigation efforts, led and paid for by Millpond, had to take place after construction had already commenced. Thanks to those mitigation efforts, no methane has been detected in any of the new homes.

The primary risk from methane is when it accumulates in unventilated, confined spaces. Millpond has taken extensive measures to ensure that the homes at Millpond Crossing are safe. Footprints below the structures of Phase 1 and 2 were excavated and replaced with clean fill. The developer also installed visqueen lining, fans and methane alarm systems to ensure the homes are safe. Sampling to date under built homes has shown no methane. Millpond also proposed a plan to DEQ that would call for enhanced mitigation measures should biogases ever be detected in occupied spaces.

Environmental due diligence and sampling done prior to Millpond acquiring the site did not indicate that methane or other biogases would be a concern. Nor did DEQ require testing for methane, even during Millpond's initial involvement in the department’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. Methane was not detected at the site until later, after construction had already been approved and started. Millpond, however, diligently responded after biogases were identified on site, and continues to work with DEQ and its consultants to provide a safe community for homeowners.

MPC Builders is paying for all mitigation efforts, monitoring and testing through the sale of homes in Millpond Crossing. In addition, Business Oregon approved a $1.5 million Brownfield Redevelopment Fund Loan for MPC Builders in September 2022, which is being used to further mitigate methane detected on the site of Millpond Crossing. That loan will also be repaid through the proceeds of homes sold in the development. Millpond has also pledged to maintain reserve funds between $300,000 and $1.5 million from the sale of new homes in a separate trust account to pay for any environmental work.

Building on sites in Oregon with organic, methane producing materials is not uncommon. Though methane was not discovered before June 2020, Millpond had been given approval to start construction prior to that time. Once methane was detected, construction was modified to include mitigation efforts to protect newly constructed homes, and mitigation measures were installed in homes already built. Additionally, Millpond has sampled the homes to confirm no methane is present beneath the homes.

The drinking water for Millpond Crossing is supplied by the City of Philomath, which according to the city, met all federal and state drinking water standards in 2021. Groundwater in the area is not used for drinking water or other beneficial uses. Testing at the Millpond Crossing sites has shown minor concentrations of petroleum products in the groundwater east of 16th Street, but none that exceed DEQ standards.

Testing at the site has determined that hydrogen sulfide, a naturally occurring biogas that is released through the natural decomposition of organic matter, has been detected in a few discrete locations. DEQ has recommended additional assessment, which MPC Builders has plans to complete. Millpond has been, and continues to, monitor every-other-week throughout the site.

MPC Builders entered into a Consent Decree with DEQ to guide the sequencing and timing of additional work at the site. For the existing homes, MPC has been testing around and under homes for biogases twice per month. This began in October 2022, and is scheduled to continue until October 2023.  The data from this testing will determine if any additional mitigation measures may be needed. If detections of biogases in crawl spaces are above the predetermined levels are found during any of these monitoring events, Millpond has proposed to implement mitigation measures for any affected houses. Millpond will also be sealing utility features that might accumulate methane or other biogases. Additionally, MPC will submit a plan to DEQ for a pilot study of subsurface biogases from yard spaces to further characterize the potential for soil gas to migrate into home or utility confined spaces, and evaluate the feasibility of other mitigation measures that may be required based on site data. DEQ has requested that the plans, approvals and implementation of this pilot study be completed by the spring of 2023. For new construction, MPC will remove all organic material from the property replace before any construction begins. Although removing the organic material should remove the source of any biogases, MPC will also equip new homes in Phase 2B with mitigation controls for additional protection. 

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