SEFA
July 30, 1997
Superfund Fact Sheet
Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats
Bay-Wide Update
Tacoma, Washington
Alaska
Region 10 Idaho
1200 Sixth Avenue Oregon
Seattle WA 98101 Washington
The Bay-Wide Update gives you information on sediment cleanup activities being conducted
in the waterways within the Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats (CB/NT) Superfund
site, and it gives an update of what sources of contamination have been controlled to date. It
also describes the on-going activities at the former Asarco Smelter, including the off-shore
sediment cleanup. These areas are being addressed by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the State of Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Highlights Contained in this Update
EPA's Final Decision on the Cleanup Level for PCBs in Commencement Bay
• A Short Summary of an EPA Public Meeting Held on June 4, 1997
• Potentially Responsible Party Search is Nearing Completion on the Thea Foss
Waterway
• Cleanup Activities Being Conducted in the Waterways
• What's Happening at Asarco
Background
Since the late 1800's, shipbuilding, oil refining, chemical manufacturing and storage, and
other industrial activities have caused hazardous waste contamination of the land and
sediments in the Commencement Bay area. Many of these contaminants have impacted
marine life. The EPA and Ecology cleanup goal is to achieve sediment quality within the
waterways that will support a healthy marine environment and reduce the risks to people
from eating contaminated seafood from the bay.
EPA's Final Decision for PCBs in
Commencement Bay
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be
found throughout Commencement Bay.
PCBs are a group of industrial compounds
most commonly used as a flame retardant
in electrical equipment and have been
found to cause cancer. The Hylebos
Waterway has the highest concentrations of
PCBs, with 24,000 parts per billion (ppb)
being the highest level detected to date.
EPA has been reevaluating the cleanup
requirements for PCBs in Commencement
Bay in order to find the best balance
between protecting the environment and
public health and the extremely high cost of
cleanup.
-------
2
After evaluating and responding to all of the
comments received during a public
comment period this spring, EPA has
modified the PCB cleanup level for the
Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats
Superfund site from 150 parts per billion
(ppb) to be achieved within 10 years after
cleanup, to 450 ppb to be achieved
immediately after cleanup. This means
that EPA will require dredging or capping in
areas of Commencement Bay that have
levels of PCBs in sediments at 450 ppb or
higher. Sediments with PCB
concentrations below 450 ppb will be left in
place to recover over time. The PCB
cleanup level in Commencement Bay
remains the most stringent of any major
Superfund cleanup in the country. PCB
cleanup levels at other major Superfund
sediment cleanups are 1,000 ppb or higher.
On March 4, 1997, EPA announced the
proposal to modify the PCB cleanup level.
Although the PCB cleanup level will change
for the entire Commencement Bay
Nearshore/Tideflats Superfund site, the
change will significantly affect the cleanup
plan for the Hylebos Waterway. EPA's
analysis showed that with this new cleanup
level, the final overall average of PCB
contamination in Commencement Bay will
be 63 ppb (rather than the estimated 51
ppb under the old number), with an
estimated $13 million cost savings.
EPA held a public comment period from
March 10 through April 9, 1997 and held a
public meeting on March 26, 1997 to
discuss our proposal. Six people gave
verbal comments at the public meeting, and
EPA received 31 comment letters. It is
clear from the public comments we have
received that there is a wide diversity of
opinion on this topic. Some commentors
support EPA's proposal, some believe the
150 ppb cleanup level should not be
changed, and some commentors told EPA
that the cleanup number should be lower.
EPA evaluated all of the comments to
determine whether and to what extent our
proposal should be changed based on
public comments.
EPA believes that within 10 years after
cleanup, natural recovery would further
reduce the PCB contamination in
Commencement Bay. The Washington
Department of Ecology and some members
of the public thought EPA should not rely
on natural recovery to reduce PCBs unless
the cleanup plan included a guarantee that
PCB concentrations will be reduced over
time. Based on these comments, EPA's
final decision is to retain the requirement
that PCB contamination levels in sediments
be reduced to 450 ppb or below
immediately after dredging, and to add a
requirement that PCB concentrations must
be reduced to at least 300 ppb within 10
years after cleanup. Modeling efforts done
to date indicate that PCBs will be reduced
naturally to below 300 ppb in 10 years, but
if for some reason this does not occur,
additional cleanup actions will be taken to
further reduce PCB concentrations.
The final decision is documented in an
Explanation of Significant Differences
(ESD), which becomes part of the Record of
Decision. Comments received during the
comment period and EPA's responses are
also included with the ESD. The document
is part of the Administrative Record for the
CB/NT site and can be reviewed at the
information repositories listed in the back
of this fact sheet. We have also included a
few commonly asked questions about the
PCB issue. They can be found on page 3.
For more information, please call Allison
Hiltner, EPA Project Manager, at (206)
553 2140.
Disposal Sites Forum - Summary of
Cleanup Alternatives for the Hylebos
Waterway
Last summer, EPA began facilitating a
group called the Disposal Sites Forum,
because it is important for us to
understand the concerns of the community
as we develop cleanup plans for the
Commencement Bay cleanup area. This
group discussed the disposal site selection
process and disposal site locations for
contaminated sediments which must be
removed to clean up Commencement Bay.
On June 4, 1997, a public meeting was
held to give updates on the different
waterways in Commencement Bay, and
featured a presentation of cleanup
alternatives for the Hylebos Waterway.
-------
3
{7
The following are some commonly asked questions on the PCB issue and EPA's responses.
1 .What does the decision to change the PCB cleanup level mean?
EPA's modification to the PCB cleanup level means that all contaminated sediments at the CB/NT Superfund site
with PCB concentrations above 450 parts per billion (ppb) will be dredged and put in a confined disposal facility
or will be capped in place. Sediments with PCB concentrations between 450 ppb and 300 ppb will be monitored.
If monitoring indicates that contaminant concentrations will not be reduced to 300 ppb within 10 years through
natural recovery processes, additional cleanup actions will be taken to further reduce PCB concentrations.
2. What are the human health and environmental risk associated with the new decision as opposed to the old
one?
Both cleanup plans significantly reduce human health and environmental risks when compared to current
conditions, and are only slightly different from each other. For example, cancer risks for a tribal fisher who
consumes a large proportion offish from the CB/NT Site for an entire lifetime are about 1 in 1,000 under current
conditions. Under the old PCB cleanup level, these risks would have been reduced to about 1.2 in 10,000
immediately after cleanup, with further reductions over time. Under the new PCB cleanup level, these risks will
be reduced to about 1.4 in 10,000 immediately after cleanup, again with further reductions overtime.
3. What is natural recovery?
Natural recovery is the process by which sediment contaminant concentrations in the upper sediment layers are
reduced over time. The upper sediment layers serve as important habitat for fish and other marine organisms.
After source control and cleanup of highly contaminated sediments is complete, contaminant concentrations in
the remaining marginally contaminated areas are reduced through mixing with and burial by more recently
deposited clean sediments, for example, from the Puyallup River and Hylebos Creek. Other process such as
biodegradation and diffusive loss to the water column can also help to reduce contaminant concentrations over
time.
4. Why does EPA believe contaminant concentrations will be reduced in the 10 years after cleanup, when the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's studies show that conditions in the Hylebos Waterway now
are essentially the same as they were 10 years ago?
EPA believes conditions will be significantly changed after completion of source control and the sediment
cleanup, so that natural recovery can occur. Most of Ecology's source control work in the Hylebos Waterway
has been completed in the last few years. In addition, the highly contaminated sediments will continue to act as
a source of contamination to more marginally contaminated sediments until they are dredged or capped. Once
these sources have been removed, natural recovery can occur.
5. Is this decision being driven by cost?
EPA's mandate under the Superfund law is to select cost-effective remedies that protect human health and the
environment. The agency carefully evaluated the risks to human health and the environment associated with
increasing the cleanup level and determined that the change in the risks was very minimal. We therefore
selected the cleanup level that would provide for a less costly, but still protective, cleanup.
6. What is the difference in cost and who will benefit?
Everyone who uses Commencement Bay benefits from the healthier environment resulting from the cleanup.
EPA estimates the cost of the Hylebos Waterway cleanup will be $18 million with the new PCB cleanup level,
versus approximately $31 million under the old PCB cleanup level. Potentially responsible parties for the
Hylebos Waterway will be asked to pay for the cleanup. The cost of cleanup of other waterways will probably not
be affected by the change in the PCB cleanup level.
For more information, please call Allison Hiltner, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-2140.
J
-------
4
Next steps for the forum will include a
discussion on the potential feasibility of
combining disposal sediments from Middle
Waterway with either Hylebos or Thea Foss
dredged sediments. EPA also requested
comments on the proposed cleanup
alternatives presented by the Hylebos
Cleanup Committee for cleanup activities in
the Hylebos Waterway.
EPA will hold a formal public comment
period on the proposed cleanup plan for
each waterway and the contaminated
sediments outside of the Asarco smelter
and will consider public comments before
approving final cleanup plans. EPA also
intends to have several informal
opportunities for public comment as part of
the ongoing Disposal Sites Forum process.
A more detailed summary of the June 4th
meeting can be reviewed at the information
repositories, or you may request a copy by
calling Jeanne O'Dell, at (206) 553-6919.
Hylebos Waterway
Sediment remedial design studies in the
Hylebos Waterway are continuing under a
1993 Administrative Order on Consent
between EPA and the Hylebos Cleanup
Committee (HCC). The HCC consists of the
Occidental Chemical Co., Kaiser Aluminum
and Chemical Co., Elf Atochem North
America Inc., Asarco, Inc., General Metals
of Tacoma, Inc., and the Port of Tacoma.
Evaluating the Success of Source
Control
The HCC prepared a report in October
1996 which provides an independent
assessment of the success of source control
efforts and recommendations regarding
whether further work is needed to ensure
that sources will have been adequately
controlled by the time the cleanup begins.
The report verifies Ecology's assessment
that most of the Hylebos Waterway facilities
have done a good job of controlling sources
of contamination, but some source control
work remains to be done. Of particular
concern are the contaminated sediments
and debris in intertidal areas in front of
many Hylebos facilities, which may erode
into and further contaminate the Waterway.
EPA and Ecology have been reviewing this
report and have provided comments to the
HCC. EPA, Ecology, and the HCC continue
to discuss the need for additional source
control work in the Hylebos Waterway.
Developing a Cleanup Plan
The HCC developed a report called the
Hylebos Waterway Round 1 Data Report,
which was provided to EPA on May 19,
1997. The report contains maps of areas
requiring sediment cleanup in the Hylebos
Waterway, and the estimated volume of
sediments requiring dredging and disposal.
The HCC also provided a report, called the
Preliminary Disposal Site Evaluation, which
further analyzes and prioritizes disposal
sites, incorporating information gained at
the Disposal Sites Forum. The HCC
presented their proposed cleanup areas
and evaluation of disposal sites at the June
4th Disposal Sites Forum meeting. EPA
held a public comment period on the HCC's
reports from June 4 to June 23, 1997. EPA
will incorporate comments received during
the public comment period into our
comments on these reports.
For more information, please call Allison
Hiltner, EPA Project Manager at (206) 553-
2140
Occidental Removal
EPA is currently negotiating an
Administrative Order on Consent (AOC)
with Occidental Chemical Corporation for
cleanup of the embankment area at the
Occidental plant on the Hylebos Waterway,
and cleanup of an offshore subtidal area
known as Area 5106 which is contaminated
with organic compounds. It is anticipated
that negotiations for the AOC will be
completed in August 1997, and that further
sampling of both the embankment area and
Area 5106 will begin. Cleanup of the entire
embankment area will take place after a
proposed remedy, presented in a document
known as an Engineering Evaluation and
Cost Analysis (EECA), has been subject to
public comment and approved by EPA. The
EECA for the embankment area as well as
an EECA for Area 5106 will be available for
public comment in 1998. Cleanup of these
areas may begin as early as next summer.
For more information, please call Ken
Marcy, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
2782.
-------
5
Thea Foss Waterway
EPA has reviewed the City of Tacoma's
cleanup options and provided comments to
the City. We also reviewed comments
received from the public and incorporated
those comments with ours to the City on
the cleanup options for the Thea Foss
Waterway. EPA's comments, along with the
comments EPA received from the public,
have been placed in the information
repositories and are available for review.
We also provided a copy of the comments
transmitted to the City to members of the
public who commented on the City's
cleanup options report.
EPA's comments, along with data from
sampling which is occurring this summer,
will be incorporated into the next and final
report, called the Pre-Remedial Design
Evaluation Report. This report will
recommend a comprehensive cleanup plan
for contaminated sediments in the Thea
Foss and Wheeler Osgood Waterways and
is expected to be available for public
comment in late 1997.
For more information, please call Christine
Psyk, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
1748
Search for Potentially Responsible
Parties on Thea Foss is Nearing
Completion
As part of the process to identify potentially
responsible parties (PRSs) who will pay for
the cleanup at Superfund sites, EPA sends
out information requests. The information
received on current and historical sources
of contamination has assisted EPA in
identifying parties responsible for cleaning
up the Thea Foss and Wheeler Osgood
Waterways. The majority of the potentially
responsible parties have been identified,
and EPA hopes to finalize the group this
summer.
General Notice Letters were sent out on
July 25, 1997, identifying additional
parties who are considered potentially
responsible and may be held liable for costs
incurred, including those related to
investigation, planning, studies and
cleanup. The extent of the contamination
in the waterways has already been
evaluated by the City of Tacoma, and when
the PRP search is complete, negotiations for
the cleanup design will begin.
For more information, please call Ken
Marcy, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
2782.
Middle Waterway
The design for cleanup of the last of the
waterways containing contaminated
sediments in Commencement Bay is now
underway. EPA recently negotiated an
Administrative Order on Consent with
Pioneer Industries, Foss Maritime, and
Marine Industries Northwest to perform the
design activities necessary to clean up
Middle Waterway. One important pre-
remedial design activity is sampling of
sediments to determine the areas and
volumes of sediments that exceed cleanup
levels and will require a cleanup action.
Sampling will start in the spring of 1998.
The three parties will also evaluate
potential disposal sites should dredging of
contaminated sediments be required as
part of the cleanup action.
Restoration projects are also in place or are
planned for the head of the waterway. As
part of an agreement to resolve their
liability for natural resource damages,
Simpson Tacoma Kraft and Champion
International restored approximately six
acres of intertidal habitat in the waterway.
The City of Tacoma is also planning to
restore nearly two acres of property in early
1998 as part of its agreement to resolve
natural resource damages.
For more information, please call Elly
Hale, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
1215
Sitcum Waterway
Cleanup activities in the Sitcum Waterway
were completed in 1994. Post construction
monitoring activities, which include water
quality, sediment quality, and Milwaukee
Waterway habitat/mitigation monitoring,
are ongoing and are being performed
according to schedules and guidelines.
Preliminary monitoring data indicate that
the Sitcum project is successful and
functional. The Port of Tacoma is
coordinating with EPA to identify the
-------
6
appropriate level of long term ground water
monitoring.
An additional mitigation project to restore
9.5 acres of habitat, the Clear Creek
Habitat Improvement Project, is on
schedule for completion by this fall.
For more information, please call Christina
Ngo, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
0171
Ecology's Urban Bay Action Team Source
Control Activities
Since the early 1990's, Ecology has been
working to identify sources of the problem
chemicals that enter into the Thea Foss/
Wheeler Osgood, Middle, Sitcum, St. Paul,
or Hylebos Waterways. Ecology has
identified 71 confirmed sources, and as of
May 1, 1997, cleanups have been
completed at 61 of the sites. Source
control investigations or actions are
ongoing at the remaining 10 sites.
Since the last update, source control is
complete for the mouth of the Thea Foss
Waterway. Source control work has also
been completed at the following sites:
Tn the Middle Waterway Problem Area:
- Marine Industries Northwest (shipyard)
Tn the Mouth of Thea Foss Problem Area:
- Totem Marine Services (boatyard)
- Storm Drain 254 (drains to Wheeler-
Osgood Waterway)
In addition, Ecology fined AK-WA (shipyard)
$52,000 for violation of its National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) Permit. The shipyard closed
operations soon after and is no longer
considered an ongoing source of
contamination to the mouth of the Hylebos
Waterway.
For more information, please call Dave
Smith, Department of Ecology, at (360)
407-6250 or Christina Ngo, EPA Project
Manager, at (206) 553-0171.
Former Asarco Tacoma Smelter
EPA and Asarco have been working on a
cleanup plan that includes cleaning up
contaminated soil, slag, and surface water,
including disposal of highly contaminated
soil, without treatment, in an on-site
containment facility (OCF) on the former
Asarco Smelter site.
Design for the cleanup is well underway.
Several work plans for additional pre-
design field work have been approved over
the last several months (e.g., groundwater
dewatering in the source areas and
geotechnical work in the on-site
containment facility area). On May 9,
Phase la Remedial Design documents (30%
design) were submitted by Asarco. The
activities addressed are: surface water
drainage and control; transportation and
land use integration; site-wide utilities/
infrastructure; and demolition of remaining
structures.
Phase lb Remedial Design documents were
submitted on June 9, 1997. The activities
addressed in these documents are: ground
water monitoring and control; on-site
containment facility (OCF); soil removal and
replacement; and boat launch
reconstruction. In addition, the following
data reports were also submitted: ground
water dewatering characteristics evaluation
report; Bennett Street promontory
geotechnical investigation report; and
geotechnical and source area verification
report. All draft Remedial Design
documents are available for review at EPA,
the Asarco Information Center, Citizens for
a Healthy Bay, and Ecology offices.
Other activities that have or will be taking
place this summer include:
-- A shoreline erosion investigation,
complete with a helicopter fly-by to
determine if and where the slag shoreline
may be eroding and will need armoring.
-- The evaporation system was relocated
from the northern side of the smelter site to
the south end of the Fine Ore Bins
building.
-------
7
-- Surface water will be studied to
determine the quality of the surface waters
coming onto the site from the Ruston/North
Tacoma area and the quality of the waters
running across the site.
-- Demolition and Dewatering
demonstrations. Different demolition
techniques will be assessed in order to
demolish the vertical walls (e.g., walls of the
old buildings) left in place from the 1992-
93 demolition activities. Also, Asarco will
be assessing the ability to draw-down (e.g.,
dewater) the waters in the cooling pond
area and the water which builds up behind
the concrete walls so that excavation
activities can occur in these locations.
For more information, please call Piper
Peterson Lee, EPA Project Manager, at
(206) 553-4951. After August 11, 1997,
please call Kevin Rochlin, EPA Project
Manager, at (206) 553-2106.
Asarco Off-Shore Sediments
Sediments along the Asarco shoreline are
contaminated, and a test cap or covering
will be placed over the contaminated
sediments in September 1997. The cap will
be monitored to see if it stays in place and
how much erosion will occur. A sediments
and ground water task force has been
formed to look at the impacts of site ground
water on the potential sediment cleanup
activities. The task force consists of EPA,
Asarco, Ecology, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and
the Washington Department of Natural
Resources (DNR).
For more information, please call Piper
Peterson Lee, EPA Project Manager, at
(206) 553-4951. After August 11, 1997,
please call Lee Marshall, EPA Project
Manager, at (206) 553-2723.
Information Repositories
Written information and technical documents regarding projects in this fact sheet are
available for your review at the following locations:
In Tacoma:
Main Tacoma Public Library*
1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Northwest Room
Citizens for a Healthy Bay
771 Broadway
(206) 383-2429
Please call for an appointment, if information is needed after business hours.
Asarco Information Center
5311 North Commercial (Asarco only)
(206) 756-5436
Please call for an appointment, if information is needed after business hours.
In Seattle:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency*
1200 Sixth Avenue
7th Floor Records Center
In Olympia:
Washington Department of Ecology
300 Desmond Drive SE (Asarco only)
* Indicates official Information Repositories for the Administrative Record
-------
8
Internet Information
Fact sheets for the Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats Superfund site, beginning in
January 1997, are available on the Internet. The Internet address for this information is:
http://www.epa.gov/rlOearth/offices/oec/cercla.html. This information is accessible
by anyone with Internet access and a browser such as Netscape. The references to contact
persons in the web site have been activated as "mailto" links. Clicking on the name pops up
an e-mail window to the specified person.
For more information about EPA Region 10's web site, please call Matt Gubitosa at (206)
553 4059
Call: Jeanne O'Dell, EPA Community Relations Coordinator, at (206) 553-6919 or call one of the
EPA representatives listed in this update.
For those with impaired hearing or speech, please contact EPA's telecommunication device for the
hearing impaired (TDD) at (206) 553-1698.
To ensure effective communication with everyone, additional services can be made available to
persons with disabilities by contacting one of the EPA representatives.
%
For More Information
EPA's toll free number is 1-800-424-4372.
J
-------
v>EB^
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 10(ECO-081)
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle WA 98101
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
U.S. EPA
Permit No. G-35
COMMENCEMENT BAY NEARSHORE/TIDEFLATS
BAY WIDE UPDATE
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
------- |