INDIAN ISLAND — Work will begin today on cleaning 20 tons of creosote-soaked driftwood debris from the beaches and lagoons at Indian Island County Park.
Washington Conservation Corps and Puget Sound Corps crews will begin to gather and stage the debris for removal from the 142-acre park by helicopter and heavy equipment April 10-12.
The county park at the south end of the island — most of the rest of which is the Indian Island Naval Magazine ammunition storage facility — will be closed to the public for safety reasons on those days, said the state Department of Natural Resources.
The project, estimated to cost between $20,000 and $30,000, is the first at the area leased from DNR by Jefferson County Parks and Recreation, which manages the park located west and south of state Highway 116 from the Portage Canal Bridge south to Marrowstone Island.
Workers will strip the area of debris that has piled up over many years, said Toni Weyman Droscher, DNR aquatics program communications manager.
“It’s a driftwood mecca,” Droscher said of the park. “The stuff has drifted from all over the Puget Sound.”
Debris swept in by high tides and storms, she said, has been trapped in the lagoon, while material on the beach and the spit come and go with the tides.
“It has been accumulating for years as old pilings and docks deteriorate and break apart — which is one reason DNR has focused efforts on removing derelict pilings around the Sound,” Droscher said.
Also involved in the work are Jefferson County Public Works, the state Department of Ecology and Washington State University Beach Watchers.
Funding is provided by Ecology and the state’s voter-approved tax on hazardous substances.
Similar cleanups have been undertaken on the North Olympic Peninsula at Fort Flagler and Fort Worden state parks, as well as at Port Angeles Harbor, Dungeness Spit and Discovery Bay.
Creosote was once commonly used to treat telephone poles, railroad ties, piers, docks and floats.
“It was a way to prevent critters from getting in there and eating away at the wood,” Droscher said.
It now is regulated as a hazardous waste.
Creosote-infused logs and timbers contaminate the water they come in contact with, which can kill marine animals.
In the marine environment, as little as 50 parts per billion of the chemical can be lethal to herring eggs and larvae, researchers have said.
Creosote-treated wood debris contains hundreds of chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, known as PAHs, which leach from the wood, especially when it is exposed to sunshine, DNR said.
Creosote-treated logs and debris that washes up on beaches often remain piled there for years.
Since 2005, DNR and its partners have removed more than 2,500 tons of creosote-treated debris from Puget Sound beaches and wetlands and 12,500 tons of old creosote-treated pilings, for a total of 15,000 tons.
DNR’s creosote removal program is part of the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda.
The Puget Sound Corps, which includes youth and military veterans, is part of the Washington Conservation Corps administered by Ecology and works in a 12-county area.
During creosote removal operations, DNR calls upon the expertise of staff trained for helicopter operations associated with firefighting, including foresters, recreation staff and fire suppression personnel.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
