October 5, 2006

By ROSETTE ROYALE
Staff Reporter

Along the banks and in the sediment under Slip 4 — an inlet finger on the eastern shore of Lower Duwamish Waterway that extends into the Georgetown neighborhood— there resides a host of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Desperately in need of removal, the toxins infect some 3.6 acres of riparian habitat. It’s these poisonous dregs that the City of Seattle and King County, in an agreement with the Environmental Protection Area (EPA,) have agreed to clean up in the autumn of 2007, to the tune of $7.4 million.

The PCBs — commercially produced organic compounds that are proven carcinogens — around and under Slip 4 popped up on the EPA’s radar screen in 1985. “But it’s been since 1990 that there’ve been some concentrations we knew we should be paying attention to,” says Karen Keeley, EPA Superfund manager. Toward the slip’s very tip, which abuts E. Marginal Way, Keeley says concentrations in the sediments top out at 5 parts per million (ppm). Other chemicals, she notes, are also present.

Attempts to have the city and county pen their signatures on an agreement, says Keeley, represent a process that has taken nearly three years. Within that time frame, decisions had to be made about what needed to be cleaned, how the cleaning would best be done and, ultimately, she says, who would bear the financial burden.

Currently in the design phase, the two-party cleanup will encompass a number of tasks. Approximately 4,300 cubic yards of sediment will be dredged; 9,700 cubic yards of soil along the shore and bank will be excavated; and close to 500 tons of asphalt, creosote-treated timbers and pilings will be hauled away.

All contaminated materials will find their way into an approved landfill. Then the entire 3.6 acres must be “capped,” or covered, to isolate any contaminants that may have been missed.

Due to an extraordinarily high level of PCBs and other toxic chemicals within, under, and along the river, the EPA listed the 5.5-mile stretch of the Lower Duwamish Waterway as a Superfund site in September 2001. Five of the waterway’s most polluted sites, including Slip 4, were named for early action removal, meaning their cleanup is imperative.

With an exception of a small tract of land near the mouth of the slip held by the Boeing Corporation, the majority of Slip 4 is owned by Crowley Maritime Services, a worldwide marine transportation company. In order for the work to begin next fall, the city has decided to buy a portion of Crowley’s share. (The cleanup does not affect Boeing property.)

Negotiations for the ownership rights to the necessary acreage are moving forward, says city project manager Jennie Goldberg. Goldberg, while indicating that the potential purchasing cost can’t be revealed while the deal is still in discussion, says the city is proceeding with the design phase to ensure the cleanup occurs as scheduled for next October. “It works out for the [taxpayers] to get the best cleanup for the best price,” says Goldberg. Once the cleanup is completed, the area around Slip 4 will incorporate a habitat that will be more fish-friendly, adds Goldberg.

That aspect, along with the entire clean up plan, pleases BJ Cummings, coordinator of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. The coalition has been watch-dogging the planning process and it looks, says Cummings, as if the cleanup will be going off on schedule.

“We thought the plan was well designed,” says Cummings. “We’re very optimistic.”