Igloos that once housed chemical weapons dot the former Umatilla Chemical Depot near Hermiston on Thursday. Control of the site is transferring in December from the U.S. Army to the local Columbia Development Authority.

HERMISTON — A deal to transfer the lands of the former Umatilla Chemical Depot from U.S. Army ownership to a regional development agency could close in December.

Columbia Development Authority Director Greg Smith said an agreement to complete the transfer from the Army to local hands “is 100% done.”

“The deeds of trust are drafted,” he said. “As soon as the ports of Morrow and Umatilla, the counties and tribe authorize the transfer, the deeds will be attached to the” memorandum of agreement.

Smith said that is because the Army requires the delay for a $1 million payment.

“It’s a pretty good deal — thousands of acres for a million bucks,” Smith said.

The area west of Hermiston and north of Interstate 84 straddles the border of Umatilla and Morrow counties, covering 17,165 acres, which will support wildlife habitat as well as military and industrial uses.

Some 7,500 acres is to remain in military use, housing the Oregon Army National Guard’s Camp Umatilla infantry training school, emergency management facilities and youth activities.

Nearly 5,800 acres is for wildlife habitat. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are to receive most of this land, which the tribes aim to rehabilitate.

Rehabilitation will not occur until transfer occurs, said Bill Tovey, the tribes’ economic development director. The Army will transfer the land to the development authority, which will then transfer the 4,000 acres to the tribes.

“The land is mostly zoned wildlife habitat,” Tovey said. “The big thing is protecting the shrub steppe habitat.”

Background and possibilities

The Army created the depot in 1940 and declared the property as surplus on Nov. 14, 2008. A local redevelopment authority, comprising Morrow County, Umatilla County, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the ports of Morrow and Umatilla, adopted a redevelopment plan in 2010.

The Army completed the destruction of the depot’s chemical weapons stockpile in 2011 and closed the base in 2012. In September 2014, the authority reorganized and renamed itself the Columbia Development Authority. Its headquarters are at the Port of Morrow in Boardman.

Smith said a variety of companies large and small frequently express interest in locating at the former depot.

“At least twice a week I get parties interested in exploring opportunities here,” Smith said. “Just today two parties contacted me. A guy called about building housing in Hermiston and another from an aggregate company interested in mining gravel for shipping to the metro area. We can’t have housing or commercial activity on (development authority) land, but we can help develop local communities. We want to foster economies throughout our counties and cities.”

Smith usually can’t name interested parties, but he cited a Fortune 500 data company, which would need power and water infrastructure development. A Fortune 50 renewables concern at the same time wants to build a solar farm to provide some of that required electricity.

“We have a good dozen other alternative energy companies interested in locating here,” he said.

One company that does not require confidentiality is Nikola, of Phoenix, which seeks to build hydrogen-powered 18-wheelers. Backed by TC Energy, formerly TransCanada, Nikola wants to locate a facility to fuel up trucks on the Umatilla County side.

The development authority has guidelines for evaluating candidate companies. Competing proposals to rent out former ordnance storage igloos to guests are under consideration.

“We have a backlog of opportunities waiting to sign once we own the land,” Smith concluded. “You only get one shot at this type of economic development, so we have to do it right the first time.”