PORT ANGELES — A section of the bluff at the former Port Angeles landfill has slipped out, exposing garbage.
City staff discovered the slide, about 10 feet deep and 50 feet wide, last month while inspecting the bluff, said Kathryn Neal, city engineering manager.
Neal said a small amount of garbage was exposed, and the city considers a “minimal” risk that some will fall onto the beach below.
“We’re going to be looking into that to see what we can do about that,” she said.
What may be done remains unclear. That will be fleshed out with a consultant, Neal said.
East of seawall
The slide occurred between 400 and 500 feet east of the seawall, built in 2007 to prevent bluff erosion and garbage from falling onto the beach or into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“We haven’t had anything like this since the seawall construction began,” Neal said.
The wall is about 450 feet long and cost $2 million to build.
City Engineer Mike Puntenney said the wall would need to be about three to four times longer to cover the entire bluff along the former landfill.
He said it was placed where the most erosion was occurring.
Neal said the bluff erodes on average between 3 inches and 18 inches a year.
“It happens in episodes,” she said. “You might see nothing for years or decades, then you might have a season where you lose 10 feet like we did this winter.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
