EVERETT – Cleaning up pollution from decades of industrial activity in the north marina area of the city’s waterfront will cost a minimum of $2 million, Port of Everett officials said.
That’s the word from a study by Landau &Associates of Edmonds, an environmental consulting firm that tested the soil and groundwater in 65 acres slated for a $200 milllion redevelopment that will include condos, offices, retail shops and public spaces.
The study found arsenic and other metals, some cancer-causing chemicals and methane gas – all consistent with many years of industry in an area that helped Everett earn the name “The City of Smokestacks” in its early years.
John Mohr, the port’s executive director, said the pollution types and levels were as expected and won’t strongly affect development of the area, which encompasses about 65 acres north of the port’s existing marina.
“We’ve completed an environmental analysis and we’ve found there’s no pool of black goo out there, but there are some spots from industrial users that have to be cleaned up,” Mohr said.
Landau analyzed 28 soil samples and 54 water samples from the area and reached these conclusions:
* The soil includes a lot of fill containing wood debris, and its decay creates a significant amount of methane gas. Buildings on the site will have be constructed in such a way that they don’t trap the methane as it’s produced.
* Although a lot of fuels and fuel tanks were used in the area, there isn’t much contamination from them.
* Arsenic is the main contaminant and is in the water and soil in several locations.
* Most of the contaminants are within the top three feet of soil.
* Some contamination by PCBs, a cancer-causing chemical, was found, but it was in an isolated area. Other cancer-causing chemicals, called carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were found in several areas.
While details of the voluntary cleanup haven’t been spelled out, Mohr said he hopes that the port will be able to deal with most of the pollution on location.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to encapsulate it on site through some sort of voluntary cleanup program – putting it under roadways and covering it in other ways so it isn’t exposed to the environment,” he said.
The polluted soil could amount to as much as 20,000 cubic yards of dirt. The $2 million cleanup estimate is a minimum figure. If the polluted soil can’t be encapsulated and needs to be taken to a landfill, disposal costs could rise significantly.
Arsenic is a common pollutant in north Everett. Not far from the waterfront is the site of an old smelter that contaminated a neighborhood and required removal of some 60,000 cubic yards of soil that is being barged to Pierce County for disposal.
Mohr said the port, in its negotiated agreement with private developer Maritime Trust, said it would pay for the first $2 million in cleanup costs. “The valuation of the land is based on property that was clean,” Mohr said.
If the cleanup costs are higher, whoever pays them would apply the cost to their investment in the development. In the development agreement with Maritime, each side is entitled to a specific return for the amount it invests in the development project.
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459 or benbow @heraldnet.com.
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