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I&J Waterway
SITE DESCRIPTIONSeptember 2005The I&J Waterway site (Site) is located between Hilton Avenue and Bellwether Way on the Bellingham waterfront. The Site consists of contaminated marine sediments located within the I&J Waterway and the nearby ship berthing areas. Between the early 1900’s and 1940, Whatcom Falls Mill Company owned the upland and berth areas and operated a lumber mill in that location. In 1944, the Port of Bellingham (Port) acquired ownership of the upland and berth areas and began leasing the property to a variety of industrial tenants. Bayshore Lumber operated a lumber mill at the head of the waterway from 1947 to 1962, and H&H Products managed the same mill from 1963 to 1972. From 1963 to 1992, Olivine Corporation operated a rock crushing plant for the mineral olivine which periodically released dust and wastewater into the waterway. North Pacific Frozen Products managed a frozen foods processing plant between 1946 and 1959, and between 1959 and the present, Bornstein Seafoods has operated a seafood processing facility. The Bornstein building was destroyed by a fire in 1985 and rebuilt in the same location.Previous environmental investigations of the Site indicate the presence of hazardous substances in the surface sediments above state cleanup standards including phthalate compounds, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, and phenol compounds. Elevated levels of mercury associated with the Whatcom Waterway site and elevated levels of methylphenol compounds associated with on-site or off-site activities are also present in the Site subsurface sediments. The I&J Waterway site is one of several cleanup sites being addressed as part of the Bellingham Bay Demonstration Pilot; a bay-wide, multi-agency initiative integrating sediment cleanup, control of pollution sources, habitat restoration and aquatic/shoreline land use. The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Port are proposing to amend an existing agreed order which requires the Port to conduct a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) of the Site. The proposed agreed order amendment allows Ecology and the Port to make minor changes in the schedule of work by written agreement. The amendment also incorporates Project Plans into the agreed order. The Project Plans include several documents which will guide the activities to be performed during the environmental investigation of the Site. The proposed agreed order amendment is available for public review and comment through October 7, 2005. For more information or to submit written comments, please contact Sunny Lin Becker, Site Manager, at Ecology’s WA State NW Regional Office, 3190 160th Avenue SE, Bellevue, WA, 98008-5452 or by email at hlin461@ecy.wa.gov.SITE DOCUMENTSSeptember, 2005
January, 2005
October 2004
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SITE INFORMATION
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