EDMONDS — Cleanup work is expected to begin this fall on property formerly used as a fuel terminal near the waterfront.
The bulk fuel terminal was operated from 1923 to 1991 by Unocal, now a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. The property is adjacent to a fish hatchery, Willow Creek and the Edmonds Marsh.
Two areas on a 22-acre site are contaminated by petroleum products.
The first part of the cleanup, expected to begin later in the fall or winter, involves removal and treatment of petroleum-contaminated water, according to Larry Altose, a spokesman for the state Department of Ecology.
Unocal will need to get a water quality permit for the work, he said. Then wells will be installed along about 400 feet of an existing drain. The wells will be used to treat petroleum-contaminated water and vapors.
Once the contaminants have been removed, the water will be discharged into Willow Creek.
It could take up to six years, Altose said.
A modification to an earlier agreement calls for more stringent cleanup levels to be met for petroleum products such as benzene and the chemical compound benzo(a)pyrene to be removed from the site, according to the ecology department.
The public agency is taking public comment on the change through Sept. 6. Comments may be emailed to david.south@ecy.wa.go.
Next summer, work will begin to remove petroleum-contaminated soil from a half-acre detention basin. It will be replaced with clean soil.
Follow-up testing will be conducted to see if further work is needed.
Petroleum-contaminated soil was previously removed from the upper portion of the property, approximately 25 acres overlooking Puget Sound. The ecology department certified it as ready for residential use in 2003. Condominiums were built on the site.
Sharon Salyer; 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
