SEPA U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 10 September 1998
Bay-Wide Update
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
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of
Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) are overseeing cleanup
efforts in the area with the goals of controlling sources of contamination
to the bay, and achieving 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.
Open House/Ground-Breaking Ceremony at Asarco
Mark your calendars for the start of the cleanup on the former
Asarco smelter site in Ruston/N. Tacoma.
Demolition Ceremony
Thursday, September 17,1998
3:00 p.m.
on the Asarco Site in the
Vacant Lot Below Bennett St. at 52nd Street
Open House to Follow
Former Ruston School
5219 North Shirley Street
Ruston, WA.
Come share a program, refreshments, a tour of the newly
renovated Ruston School, the new home to the Asarco
Information Center, and witness the demolition of Asarco's
historical main office. The office demolition will conclude a ten
year process and begin the active cleanup of contamination soil
and surface water at the site. Cleanup will take five years to
complete, which will pave the way for redevelopment of this
important community resource. For more information, please
call Karen Pickett, at the Asarco Information Center,
(253) 756-5436.
Howto Review EPA Site Files
With out a Hassle
Lately Region 10's Records Center
has experienced a heavy demand
for CB/NT site file review and,
frankly we're pleased that our files
are so popular! However, there are
a few steps you must take in order
to visit the files:
1) Call the Project Manager.
Their names and phone numbers
are listed throughout the fact sheet
i n bold print. Let th e Proj ect
Manager know:
- What it is you want and ask
whether it is available
- That you need to set up an
appointm ent to review the files
-Whether you have submitted a
Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA")
request. A FOIA is necessary if you
want to make copies of the
information you are reviewing. A
FOIA request can be submitted by
mail, fax, or e-mail. Call Stephanie
Kercheval at (206) 553-8665 for
more information.
2) Call the Records Center at
(206) 553-4494 to make your
appointment. They are open
Monday through Friday between
8:30 and 4:00. Let the Records
Center know which Project
Manager you spoke to and when.
The Records Center cannot release
files for review without a go-ahead
from the Project Manager. Also, let
the Records Center know whether
you have submitted a FOIA.
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&EPA
Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats September 1998
NOTE: While some files (anything in an
"Administrative Record") can be reviewed on a
drop-in basis, most files at EPA can only be
reviewed by making an appointment. The
Tacoma Public Library, Citizens for a Healthy
Bay, and the Asarco Information Center also
have many CB/NT documents available for
review. Addresses and phone numbers are
listed at the end of this fact sheet.
Activities Surrounding the Hylebos Waterway
V Sediment Sampling Continues to Define
Cleanup Areas
V Cleanup at the Occidental Plant to Begin in
1999
V Wood Debris Pilot Project This Fall
- Sediment Sampling Continues to Define the
Cleanup Area
The Hylebos Cleanup Committee (HCC), a group
of 5 companies and the Port of Tacoma,
continues its work to better define the cleanup
area. Sediment samples were taken in the
Hylebos Waterway in the spring and summer
of 1998 to define the edges of cleanup areas.
This information will be used to develop the
HCC's proposed cleanup areas and disposal
plan, which they will submit to EPA at the end
of 1998.
In the meantime, some property owners on the
Hylebos Waterway are taking steps to clean up
contaminated intertidal sediments on their
properties:
- The intertidal areas of the former Tacoma
Boat property are now clean, thanks to cleanup
efforts by the new property owner, Ace Tank.
- General Metals will clean up intertidal areas
in front of their property this fall as part of a
project to upgrade their wharf and scrap
loading facilities.
- Automobile shredder residue (shredded car
interiors) was removed from the upland and
intertidal portions of the Mather Auctioneers
property this summer.
- Cleanup Progress at the Former Occidental Plant
Last November, EPA and Occidental Chemical
Corporation agreed to address the
embankment area and the adjacent off-shore
area in front of the former Occidental Facility.
Sampling of the embankment area is now
complete while sampling of the off shore area
continues. These areas contain the highest
concentrations of contaminants found
anywhere in the Hylebos Waterway. Final
cleanup of the area is scheduled to begin in the
fall of 1999.
- Wood Debris
EPA, Ecology and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are
reviewing the studies submitted by the Hylebos
Wood Debris Group (WDG). The studies
determine where wood waste accumulates and
where cleanup is needed in the head of the
Hylebos Waterway.
There is a pilot project planned for this fall to
pick up whole logs from the waterway and
determine whether they can be reused or
recycled. Further sampling and analysis will
also be conducted to determine the best
disposal option for the materials removed from
the waterway. In addition to preparing for
cleanup of wood debris, the WDG is developing
an Operation, Maintenance and Monitoring
Plan which will address prevention of future
accumulations of wood debris within the
waterway.
For more information, please call Allison
Hiltner, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
2140.
Update on Finding Disposal Sites for Thea Foss
Contaminated Sediments
EPA has been working with parties potentially
responsible for the cleanup of contaminated
sediments in the Bay, as well as interested
citizens, and state and federal agencies to
come up with a plan for disposing of
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&EPA Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats September 1998
contaminated sediments from the waterways
in Commencement Bay. For Thea Foss, EPA's
goal is to keep the City of Tacoma's cleanup
schedule moving and on track for construction
to begin in the year 2000.
EPA is currently reviewing the City's report
recommending a cleanup plan and a disposal
site for contaminated sediments in the Thea
Foss and Wheeler Osgood Waterways. The
report evaluates options, including upland
disposal and confined aquatic disposal.
In addition, discussions have taken place
concerning a proposal by Simpson Tacoma
Kraft to use the St. Paul Waterway as a disposal
site for contaminated sediment dredged from
the Thea Foss and Middle Waterways. Several
issues face this proposal, including whether the
area is big enough to hold the contaminated
sediments needing disposal. Issues are also
arising out of the recent proposed listing of
Puget Sound Chinook salmon as a threatened
species under the Endangered Species Act and
need resolution. We will continue to keep you
informed of progress at Thea Foss.
For more information, please contact Christine
Psyk, at (206) 553-1748.
Investigation of Dioxin at the Olympic View
Restoration Site
In June, the Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) was notified by the City of Tacoma that
high concentrations of dioxin were found at
the head of the peninsula between Thea Foss
and Middle Waterways. This area, known as
the Olympic View Restoration Site, is slated for
a habitat restoration project under an
agreement between the City and the National
Resources Trustees.
For more information, please call Joyce
Mercuri, Ecology Project Manager at (360)
407-6260.
Ecology's Urban Bay Action Team Source
Control Activities
Since the last update, source control work has
been completed at the following sites:
V In the Head of Hyiebos Waterway - Tacoma
Boatbuilding banks and intertidal area
(shipyard)
V In the Head of Thea Foss Waterway - J. M.
Martinac stormwater (shipyard)
For more information about source control
activities, please contact Dave Smith,
Department of Ecology, at (360) 407-6250 or
Kris Flint, EPA Project Manager, at (206) 553-
8155.
Internet Information
You are invited to check out information at
EPA's website: http:// www.epa.gov/rl Dearth.
Click on the A to Z and browse through many
different areas. Some of this information
includes:
V Environmental Cleanup Office
V Commencement Bay
V Records Center
V FOIA
V Community Involvement
V Superfund sites
For more information about EPA Region 10's
web site, please call Matt Gubitosa at
(206) 553-4059.
The City of Tacoma is developing a sampling
and analysis plan to investigate this
contamination further and the Department of
Ecology is coordinating the review of the City's
plan with EPA and the Trustees.
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Information Repositories
Written information and technical documents are available for review at the following locations:
InTacoma:
Tacoma Main Public Library
1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Northwest Room
Citizens for a Healthy Bay
771 Broadway
(253) 383 2429
'Asarco Information Center(Asarco Only)
5311 North Commercial
(253) 756-5436
Please call for an appointment if information is needed after business hours.
In Seattle:
InOlympia:
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Sixth Avenue
Records Center - 7th Floor
Washington Department of Ecology
300 Desmond DrSE
(Asarco Only)
Please check the instructions for reviewing site files at the Regional Office.
For More Information
Please contact one of the representatives listed in this fact sheet or call Jeanne O Dell, Community Involvement
Coordinator, at(206) 553-6919 or call toll free 1 -800-424-4372.
To ensure effective communication with everyone, additional services can be made available to persons with speech or hearing
disabilities by contacting one of the EPA representatives listed in this fact sheet.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA Region 10
Community Relations and Outreach
1200 Sixth Avenue, ECO-C81
Seattle, Washington 98101-1128
In This issue....
SUPERFUNDFACTSHEET
COMMENCEMENT BAY NEARSHORE/
TIDEFLATS
TACOMA, WASH INCTON
- Open House/Ground-Breaking Ceremony at Asarco
- How to Review EPA Site Files Without a Hassle
¦ Update on Finding Disposal Sitesfor Ttiea Foss Contaminated Sediments
- Activities Surrounding theHylebos Waterway
- Investigation ofDioxin at the Olympic View Restoration Site
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