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Department of Ecology News Release - October 27, 2009
09-255
BELLINGHAM – The Washington Department of Ecology is overseeing a five-year review of interim cleanup measures at the Weldcraft Steel and Marine site.
Weldcraft is one of 12 cleanup sites in the Bellingham Bay Demonstration Pilot. This multi-agency collaborative effort integrates cleanup, control of pollution sources, habitat restoration and land use. The pilot program is a major step toward restoring Puget Sound, and it’s a model for other large-scale cleanup initiatives.
Crews maneuvered a boat just offshore at Squalicum Harbor on Thursday, Oct. 22 to collect samples from the bottom of the bay. (Photos are available from Ecology by request.) Testing is a required five-year checkup for cleanup work performed in 2003-04. Results will show if the sediment meets limits set by state law.
The site, at Squalicum Way and Harbor Loop Drive, has been used primarily as a boatyard since 1946. Past operations contaminated the site with metals, tributyltin (an anti-fouling additive in boat-hull paint), mercury, lead, zinc, and components of diesel, gasoline and wood preservatives.
Interim sediment cleanup was needed to protect the bay during improvements to the property. The Port of Bellingham performed the cleanup work under a 2003 legal agreement with Ecology.
Cleanup work involved dredging about 6,800 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, then covering some areas with clean, gravelly sand. Dredged materials were taken to a permitted disposal facility in eastern Washington. Property improvements included removing a marine railway and replacing a failing bulkhead.
Seaview Boatyard North now leases property at the site from the port but didn’t cause the contamination.
The 2003 legal agreement between the port and Ecology also requires the port to conduct a comprehensive study of the site (called a remedial investigation) and analyze cleanup options (called a feasibility study). The investigation and study report will address upland and sediment contamination at the cleanup site. They will include the results of last week’s sampling.
The draft report should be available for public review by the summer of 2010.
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Media Contacts:
Katie J. Skipper, Ecology communications manager, 360-715-5205, 360-510-0682
cell, katie.skipper@ecy.wa.gov
Carolyn Casey, Port of Bellingham communications manager, 360-676-2500,
carolync@portofbellingham.com
For more information:
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/blhm_bay/sites/Weldcraft/weldcraft_hp.htm
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
