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Department of Ecology News Release - September 6, 2007
07-255
BELLEVUE - King County's Wastewater Treatment Division will remove about an acre of contaminated sediment off Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle under a legal agreement with the Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Ecology seeks public comment on the agreed order - which contains the agreement - and two companion documents: an interim action work plan and a public participation plan. The comment period extends through Oct. 8, 2007.
The contaminated area is just offshore at the former site of a combined sewer overflow pipe outfall, known as the Denny Way CSO, at 3165 Alaskan Way. The pipe discharged a mixture of stormwater and sewage that overflowed during heavy rains from Seattle's combined sewage and storm drain systems. A variety of chemicals and metals washed out and accumulated in nearby sediments.
In 2005, King County completed a $173 million project to control and treat these overflows, and later replaced the old Denny Way CSO outfall with a new outfall located in deeper water.
Contractors, working from barges, will remove as much contaminated material as possible for disposal on land at an approved disposal site. Clean sand and gravel will replace the removed sediment. A 10-year monitoring program will begin after the construction is over.
Work is scheduled to begin Nov. 15, and is expected to last approximately 10 weeks. The project will occur during a Nov. 15-to-Feb. 15 "fish window" between migratory fish runs.
The cleanup work will have little impact on park users. Some minor construction staging will occur near the King County facilities and plaza.
Comments may be sent to Grant Yang, Site Manager, Dept. of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave. SE, Bellevue WA 98008; gyan461@ecy.wa.gov . The agreed order, a fact sheet and other documents are available on line at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/denny_way/dw_hp.htm . To view paper copies, visit the downtown Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. in Seattle, or the Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office, 3190 160th Ave. SE in Bellevue.
To order paper copies, contact Ecology's publications office at ecypub@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-7472. To obtain documents in alternative formats, please contact Nancy Lui, 425-649-7117. Persons with a hearing loss may call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability may call 1-800-833-6388 for TTY service.
Ecology will respond to comments in a summary report to be issued later in the fall.
This cleanup project will support Ecology's initiatives to control and reduce toxic threats and to achieve the Governor's target to restore and clean up Puget Sound by 2020.
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Media contacts: Larry Altose, Ecology public information officer,
425-649-7009
Annie Kolb-Nelson, King County Wastewater Treatment Division media relations,
206-263-6157
For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/denny_way/dw_hp.htm
Fact sheet: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0709079.pdf
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
