In an effort to address historic contamination from a boatyard on the Bellingham waterfront, the Washington Department of Ecology and Port of Bellingham completed an investigation and published an environmental report, which includes recommendations for cleanup. The public is invited to comment on the report from July 30 to August 28.
Former port tenant Weldcraft Steel and Marine performed boat repair, maintenance and fabrication work at the site from 1946 to 2002. The contamination associated with these activities includes petroleum-related chemicals and metals in the groundwater and soil, and metals in the marine sediment. Contamination at the site is associated with past boatyard work and has no relation to the current port tenant, Seaview Boatyard North.
In 2003 and 2004, as part of interim cleanup work, about 6,800 cubic yards of contaminated marine sediment were removed and disposed of at a permitted landfill. The next phase of cleanup addresses the upland portion of the site.
The cleanup of the Weldcraft site is estimated to cost about $610,000. Ecology will reimburse the port up to half the cost of cleanup through the state’s Remedial Action Grant program, which helps pay for the cleanup of publicly owned sites. The Legislature funds the grant program with revenues from a voter-approved tax on hazardous substances.
[mappress]
Press Release, July 29, 2014