EVERETT — It’s taken 20 years, but the state says a former Weyerhaeuser mill site on Everett’s north side is clean.
Contaminated soil at the site has either been trucked away or covered up and doesn’t pose a health threat, according to the state Department of Ecology.
From 1914 to 1992, Weyerhaeuser operated several mills at the 35-acre site along the Snohomish River, turning out pulp, boards and other wood products. The site is at 101 E. Marine View Drive, just west of the Highway 529 bridge.
The Department of Ecology will accept public comment until April 6 on the proposal to scratch the property from the state’s list of cleanup sites. Ecology will then review comments, and if no significant changes are deemed necessary, the land will be taken off the state’s hazardous sites list.
Even if it is taken off the list, the Ecology Department “will continue to review it every five years to make sure containment is working,” said David South, the agency’s site manager.
While heavily polluted soil was dug up and taken away, “some soils with low levels of contamination remain,” he said. But they do not pose any health threat.
Weyerhaeuser started cleaning the site up in 1995, with Ecology approving plans and reviewing results.
For several years, the Department of Ecology has been monitoring arsenic levels in groundwater. The levels are at a safe level, South said.
“It’s not unusual for things to take this long,” he said.
Over the years, mill work also produced polychlorinated biphenyls, chromium, mercury, ethylbenzene, xylenes, petroleum and water with arsenic.
While the land is cleaned up, it should only be used for industrial purposes, South said.
Weyerhaeuser sold the land, most of which is split between three parcels. Two of the properties, about 22.7 acres in all, are owned by Shadow Development, a company registered in Seattle. The other 7.7-acre parcel is held by Blunt Family LLC, a Everett holding company for the estate of Kim and Sharon Bargreen Blunt. The local business executives and civic boosters died in 2010 and 2008, respectively.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com.
How to comment
To read more about the Weyerhaeuser site and its history, go to 1.usa.gov/196PUXp.
Public comments can be sent to David South, cleanup site manager, Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave. SE, Bellevue, WA 98008-5452, or by email to david.south@ecy.wa.gov.
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