By Darlene Schanfald, Sierra Club North Olympic Group (NOG)
The Port Angeles Harbor was once lined with plywood, pulp and paper mills for many decades. These left a legacy of contaminants in the Harbor sediments and town soils. Toxic air emissions reached back to the Olympic National Park harming trees and soils. All but one of the mills are gone. The USEPA and Washington State Ecology (Ecology) sampling and analysis are done. But cleanup efforts continue. Legacy contaminants throughout the Harbor include dioxin/furans, PAHs, heavy metals, PCBs, PCPs, Toluene, woody debris, and more. The cleanups are conducted under Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Model Toxics Cleanup Act.
Rayonier closed its mill on May 1, 1997. Citizen actions effected agency investigations and cleanup oversight to ensure that Rayonier would be held responsible for removing its pollution. In 2019, a draft cleanup plan was released. The comment period ended last November. That plan covered sediments, soils on the mill property, Ennis Creek, and the wharf that extends about 1000 feet into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There were a range of cleanup options, from do nothing to a full cleanup. Rayonier’s option, supported by Ecology, was to cover up the “hot spots” on the mill property with clean dirt and leave the earlier-piled mounds of toxic soil where they are, making the site a landfill. Toxic sediments would be covered with inches of sand. Let nature take its course. Fence the area and allow the public to access the site twice a week.
The Sierra Club North Olympic Group (NOG), in collaboration with Friends of Ennis Creek, Olympic Environmental Council, Protect Peninsula’s Future, Peninsula College Student Association, Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition and the University of Washington Superfund Research Program held public webinars and garnered 160 public comments. All commenters, but three, want a full cleanup and the toxins removed. Aligned with environmental groups from throughout western WA that spoke for a full cleanup were Clallam County and Port Angeles agencies, community clubs, and business groups. That was a first!
The waters are the usual and accustomed fishing grounds of the Lower Elwha Tribe. The Tribe also opposed Rayonier’s proposed cleanup option. We hope this strong state-community statement changes Ecology’s approach and helps ensure a healthy Port Angeles community and marine system in the long run
The Port of Port Angeles finished its Harbor cleanup of the plywood mill it leased to different companies. The Port did a thorough cleanup. Since, they have been able to lease the land to a neighboring boat-building firm.
Lastly, a public comment period opened on January 16, 2020 and ends on March 16. This relates to the western end of the Port Angeles Harbor. Responsible parties include Georgia Pacific, LLC, Nippon Paper Industries USA Co., LLd, Merrill & Ring, the City of Port Angeles and the Port of Port Angeles. The cleanup area totals 1,262 sediment acres. Again, the cleanup choices are to excavate, cover the sediment with clean sand, gravel and rock, place a 6-inch layer of clean sand and gravel, and monitor.
Ecology will hold a Public Open House, January 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 in the Olympic Medical Center, Linkletter Hall, 939 Caroline Street, Port Angeles. NOG will be encouraging citizen comments and circulating talking points.