PORT ANGELES — The City Council has put its stamp of approval on two documents necessary for the cleanup of the western portion of Port Angeles Harbor.
The agreed order and work plan for the cleanup process, approved Tuesday night by a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Max Mania opposed and Councilwoman Sissi Bruch recusing herself, formalizes how the city will work with four partners to develop a plan for studying and cleaning up industrial toxins from the bottom of the harbor’s west portion, City Attorney Bill Bloor said.
The state Department of Ecology has named the city, the Port of Port Angeles, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Nippon Paper Industries USA and forest services company Merrill & Ring as at least partially responsible for cleaning up such contaminants as heavy metals that were found in the harbor during a 2008 Ecology study.
‘A seat at the table’
“[The order and plan] gives us basically a seat at the table in negotiating some of these factors of how the [remedial investigation and feasibility study] and the cleanup will take place,” Bloor told City Council members Tuesday night.
Port commissioners will consider approving the same order and plan at its meeting next week.
Ecology is holding the city responsible because of contaminants thought to have been released via the city’s combined sewer overflows into the harbor.
Ecology officials have said the other parties bear responsibility because of contaminants found associated with historic industrial wood processing around the harbor.
Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific is identified because it now controls the historical corporate owners of the mill, including Crown Zellerbach, that is now operated by Nippon Paper Industries.
As part of the agreed order, these entities must complete a remedial investigation of exactly what contaminants exist where and a feasibility study on how the substances should be removed.
“We want [a cleanup] that’s going to be full and final,” Bloor said.
“We also want one that will be efficient.”
Quarter of the costs
The city expects to pay one-fourth — or about $1 million — of the total costs for the investigation and study process, and has implemented a 30-month surcharge on city residential wastewater utility bills to help pay for it.
The surcharge is $4.15 to $4.50 monthly per household, based on a formula of sewage discharge.
The city, however, has started several claims related to the harbor contamination issue with insurance companies that provided liability insurance to the city, and those claims could reduce the surcharge, Bloor said.
“We have started those claims, and they’re being worked,” Bloor said, adding that he could not estimate how much money the claims could be worth.
“Those are pending right now.”
Remedial grant
Additionally, City Manager Dan McKeen said Ecology staff has requested a $400,000 remedial action grant to help pay for the city’s share of the investigation and feasibility study process.
“It looks like we’re going to be successful in getting [the] remedial action grant,” McKeen said, adding that Ecology staff has assured him that the grant remains in the multiple versions of the state biennial budget still being discussed in Olympia.
Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd said at the Tuesday council meeting that she has been working with McKeen to drive home to Ecology the city’s desire to work alongside the state agency in cleaning up the harbor.
“As recently as last week, we’re letting [Ecology] know this is a partnership,” Kidd said.
The agreed order and associated work plan lay out how sampling of harbor sediment and water — data that will eventually be part of the feasibility study — will occur, Bloor explained.
“By having the agreed order at this time of year, we will be able to start sampling in June,” Bloor said.
“We’re anticipating the entire [remedial investigation and feasibility study] process will be done by the end or the latter part of 2014.”
The city is set to pay one-fourth of a $1.8 million contract with Seattle-based consulting firm Floyd Snyder, which will lead three other firms in completing the sampling work.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
