There are efforts by all levels of government agencies to clean up the Duwamish River. Read below about the efforts and where to find additional information on this topic! You can become involved in a Community Advisory Group – contact Pam Johnson at People for Puget Sound at 206-382-7007 or pjohnson@pugetsound.org
The Duwamish has long been an industrial corridor where many businesses discharged their waste, including toxic chemicals like PCBs and heavy metals. The river has also been a sink for runoff from streets, parking lots, and buildings surrounding it, adding to the levels of contaminants. The contaminated sediments in the Duwamish may be a threat to human health and the environment and must be evaluated and cleaned up under state or federal superfund laws.
Right now the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Ecology are negotiating agreements with four of the major property owners responsible for cleanup of the Duwamish River: The Boeing Co., Port of Seattle, King County and City of Seattle. These agreements would further investigate contamination, assess risks to human health and the environment, and evaluate cleanup options.
It is very important that the public is involved early in these important decisions! The documents being negotiated are called an “Administrative Order on Consent” and the “Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Statement of Work.” The Statement of Work has been reviewed by the Duwamish Community Advisory Group* and those comments will be presented at this public meeting. Major issues highlighted by the Community Advisory Group include:
-ensuring key decisions are made with adequate public participation
- making sure sampling procedures and risk assessments are used that are protective of human health and all species that live in and around the Duwamish
- avoiding recontamination from upland contamination, storm water runoff and ongoing industrial discharges
For more information contact:
Pam Johnson, People for Puget Sound, 206-382-7007, pjohnson@pugetsound.org
Rick Huey, Ecology Project Manager, 425-649-7256, rhue461@ecy.wa.gov
Loren McPhillips, EPA Project Manager, 206-553-4903
All documents available for comment, as well as a 1999 EPA report on the Lower Duwamish River are available for review at the following locations:
South Park Community Center, 8319 Eighth Ave. S., Seattle, 9810
EPA Region 10 Records Center, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, 98101
Documents are also available on the EPA Region 10 web site: http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/
Click on “Index” then “L” and then “Lower Duwamish Waterway Site”
*Organizations represented on the Community Advisory Group are: Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Green/Duwamish Watershed Alliance, Waste Action Project, and People for Puget Sound.
