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Ecology is reviewing comments received on a draft Consent Decree which contains a number of Exhibits including a draft Cleanup Action Plan detailing Ecology’s proposed cleanup action for the Whatcom Waterway site. Please see the Fact Sheet for more information. All written comments received during the public comment period are posted below
Ecology is preparing a Responsiveness Summary of the comments received and suggested changes. If significant changes are made, the draft Consent Decree will be issued again for public comment. If no significant changes are made, Ecology will issue a final Cleanup Action Plan and enter the Consent Decree in Whatcom County Superior Court. The cleanup will then move forward into design, permitting, construction and long-term monitoring.
For more information about the Whatcom Waterway site, please contact Lucille T. McInerney, P.E., Site Manager, at Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office, 3190 160th Avenue, Bellevue, WA 98008-5452 or by email at lpeb461@ecy.wa.gov.
Ecology is proposing to enter into a Consent Decree with the Port of Bellingham, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the City of Bellingham, and Meridian-Pacific, LLC to implement the cleanup of the Whatcom Waterway site and to settle their liability. The draft Consent Decree contains a number of exhibits including a draft Cleanup Action Plan detailing Ecology’s proposed cleanup action for the Whatcom Waterway site. Please see the site Fact Sheet for more information.
The Draft Consent Decree, including Exhibits, is available for public review and comment until August 13, 2007.
A public hearing will be held on August 8, 2007, 6:30-9:00 p.m., at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Avenue, Bellingham, WA. This hearing is an opportunity to learn more about Ecology’s proposed cleanup action, to ask questions, and to provide Ecology with comments.
After the public comment period Ecology will prepare a Responsiveness Summary which summarizes and responds to the comments received. If significant changes are made as a result of public comment, the Consent Decree will be issued again for public review. If no significant changes are made, Ecology will issue final versions of the draft Exhibits and enter the Consent Decree in Whatcom County Superior Court. The cleanup will then move forward into design and permitting.
For more information about the Whatcom Waterway site, please contact Lucille T. McInerney, P.E., Site Manager, at Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office, 3190 160th Avenue, Bellevue, WA 98008-5452 or by email at lpeb461@ecy.wa.gov.
On October 10, 2006 Ecology issued the following cleanup documents for a 69-day public review period:
162 oral and written comments received during the public comment period have been summarized and responded to by Ecology in a Responsiveness Summary. A number of the comments received on the RI/FS influenced Ecology’s development of a draft Cleanup Action Plan for the Whatcom Waterway site as well as future remedial design considerations. However, the comments do not significantly change the RI/FS and it is now considered final.
The Whatcom Waterway site (Site) includes property adjacent to Georgia-Pacific's (G-P) former pulp mill and chlor/alkali plant in downtown Bellingham. Environmental investigations of the Site have confirmed the presence of mercury at concentrations exceeding standards under the Washington Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) and Washington Sediment Management Standards (SMS). As a result, the Site is subject to investigation and cleanup requirements of MTCA.
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and G-P finalized two legal agreements (called agreed orders) in 1996 and 2000, after notice and opportunity for public review. The first agreed order required G-P to perform an environmental study (called a remedial investigation/feasibility study) of the Site. The second agreed order required G-P to implement an interim cleanup of the G-P Log Pond, a su../../tcp_acronym_list.htmb-area of the Site.
In January of 2005, the Port of Bellingham (Port) acquired 137 acres of waterfront property from GP including property within the Site. As a result the agreed orders discussed above were amended in May of 2005 to add the Port as a signatory. The Port is now co-responsible for completing a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) of the Site, and for finishing monitoring of the G-P Log Pond interim cleanup action.
The Port has completed a draft Supplemental RI/FS under Ecology oversight in accordance with these amended agreed orders. The draft Supplemental RI/FS incorporates the results of environmental investigations conducted since completion of the original RI/FS in 2000, updates previously evaluated cleanup alternatives, describes and evaluates new cleanup alternatives that reflect changes in land use, and identifies a preferred cleanup approach.
The draft Supplemental RI/FS and a companion draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement are available for public review and comment through December 18, 2006. For more information or to submit written comments, please contact Lucille T. McInerney, P.E., Site Manager, at Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office, 3190 160th Avenue, Bellevue, WA 98008-5452 or by email at lpeb461@ecy.wa.gov.
In 2005, two agreed orders between G-P and Ecology were amended to add the Port as a signatory. The agreed order amendments resulted in the Port being co-responsible for completing a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) of the Site, and for finishing monitoring of the G-P Log Pond interim cleanup action.
In 2001, G-P’s Pulp Mill closed which resulted in a new remedial alternative for the Whatcom Waterway site after G-P determined a portion of its Aerated Stabilization Basin could potentially be used as a disposal facility for contaminated sediments. This new remedial alternative was evaluated through the development of a Supplemental FS and a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which were issued in March 2002 for public review and comment. Public comment did not substantively change the draft documents and they are considered final.
In July 2000, Ecology and G-P entered into an interim action agreed order, after public notice and opportunity for review, which required G-P to remediate the G-P Log Pond area of the Whatcom Waterway site. G-P completed this interim action in 2001, and subsequent physical, chemical, and biological monitoring has shown the remediation to be effective. Continued monitoring is required to ensure the long term effectiveness of the action.
Interim Action, Georgia-Pacific Log Pond, 2001
In May 1996, Ecology and G-P entered into an agreed order, after public notice and opportunity for review, which required G-P to conduct a RI/FS of the Site. A RI/FS and an EIS were completed in 2000 after public review and comment. The RI/FS summarized the existing environmental conditions at the Site, presented and evaluated a range of cleanup alternatives, and identified a preferred cleanup approach. The EIS evaluated the Bellingham Bay Comprehensive Strategy, a guidance document developed by a multi-organizational partnership that integrates sediment cleanup, control of pollution sources, habitat restoration and aquatic/shoreline land use on a bay-wide scale. The EIS also evaluated a range of remedial alternatives for the Whatcom Waterway site and other cleanup sites around Bellingham Bay.
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