  |
|
|
Department of Ecology News Release - July 11, 2008
08-193
BELLINGHAM – Bellingham Bay will be busy with barges, cranes and boats for about six weeks starting Monday while crews gather samples for one of the largest cleanups under way in the region.
The work will provide data and information necessary to design a cleanup of historic mercury contamination in the Whatcom Waterway area.
In September, following years of investigation, analysis and public comment, the Washington Department of Ecology decided on a cleanup plan, covering more than 200 acres of Bellingham Bay. Overseen by Ecology, the Port of Bellingham is responsible for designing and completing cleanup of the site under the terms of a legal agreement, called a consent decree.
“This portion of the project is a milestone,” said site manager Lucy McInerney, an environmental engineer for Ecology. “These samples are a step toward implementing a cleanup in 2010 that protects human health and the environment from exposure to contaminants.”
The Port of Bellingham hired Bellingham-based Anchor Environmental to perform the sampling work. Sediment samples will be taken from the bay, soil samples from upland areas along the waterfront, and sludge samples from the industrial wastewater pond at the foot of C Street.
The Whatcom Waterway site in Bellingham Bay was contaminated with mercury discharged by Georgia-Pacific’s waterfront plant in the 1960s and ‘70s.
The Port of Bellingham acquired 137 acres of waterfront property, including portions of the Whatcom Waterway site, from GP in 2005, accepting responsibility for leading the cleanup under the supervision of Ecology. The Whatcom Waterway cleanup project is scheduled for completion in 2014.
The site is part of the Bellingham Bay Demonstration Pilot, a bay-wide, multi-agency initiative that combines sediment cleanup, pollution from existing and future sources, habitat restoration and land use. Cleanup strategies and cooperative management in Bellingham Bay serve as a model for cleanup throughout Puget Sound and the state of Washington.
###
Media Contacts:
Katie Skipper, Ecology communications manager, 360-715-5205 desk, 360-510-0682 cell, or
kski461@ecy.wa.gov .
Lucy McInerney, Ecology site manager, 425-649-7272 desk, or
lpeb461@ecy.wa.gov.
Mike Hogan, Port of Bellingham environmental public outreach specialist, 360-676-2500.
For more information:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/whatcom/ww.htm
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
