Harris Avenue Shipyard
Current Status
Last updated: April 2022
Información en español
2020 Postcard
2021 Final Cleanup Action Plan
Work begins on engineering design for cleanup
Ecology conducted a public comment period (December 7, 2020 - January 30, 2021) on a draft Cleanup Action Plan, Agreed Order (legal agreement), and a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) determination for the Harris Avenue Shipyard site on the Bellingham waterfront in the Fairhaven neighborhood.
Ecology has reviewed and considered the public comment received on the documents. Based on Ecology’s evaluation of the comment, no changes were necessary in the documents, and they are being finalized. (Download the 2021 Response to Comments.)
Work will begin on the engineering design of the cleanup action (construction). See graphic below and visit Ecology’s cleanup process webpage to learn more about Washington’s formal cleanup process.
Visit our 2022 blog: Cleaning up: Getting ready for more Bellingham Bay cleanup
Estimated Site Timeline
- December 7, 2020 – January 20, 2021: Held a 45-day public comment period.
- December 16, 2020: Hosted an online public meeting. (Download presentation PDF.)
- Early 2021: Finalize the Cleanup Action Plan and associated documents. Ecology reviewed and considered all comments received and responded accordingly. (Download Response to Comments.)
- 2022/2023: Estimated time to complete design of the cleanup action.
Implementation of the cleanup action (construction) will occur under a future separate legal agreement, which will be issued for public review and comment.
General Cleanup Process
Public Participation
This plan describes how Ecology will share information with the community and how you can share information with us. Ecology will review this plan as the cleanup progresses and amend/update it as necessary.
Site Information
Site History
The Harris Avenue Shipyard cleanup site (Site) is located at 201 Harris Avenue in Bellingham’s Fairhaven Neighborhood. The Site consists of approximately 5 acres of contaminated marine sediment (in-water) and 5 acres of contaminated soil and groundwater (upland). The contamination is from historic shipbuilding and other industrial operations.
Shipbuilding activities began in the early 1900’s, and in 1966 the Port began leasing to other industrial operations.
The State of Washington and the Port own the property within the Site. The Port and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources have a management agreement for the harbor-area parcels, including the aquatic and historical infill lands.
In 1998, the Port began voluntarily investigating sediment at the Site. Based on this work, Ecology and the Port entered into a legal agreement (agreed order) in 2003 to complete a comprehensive sediment investigation. In 2010, Ecology and the Port entered into a second agreed order to investigate upland soil and groundwater.
Early cleanup (Interim Action)
In 2018, the Port, with Ecology oversight, completed an early cleanup action for a portion of the Site.
The early cleanup action, called an interim action:
- Removed wooden and creosote structures.
- Dredged and disposed of contaminated subtidal sediment.
- Excavated and backfilled intertidal areas with clean sediment.
- Excavated and disposed of contaminated soil, and capped with gravel.
- Replaced creosote-treated wooden pier with concrete and steel pier.
Contamination
Investigations conducted by the Port found contamination from former shipbuilding and other historical operations. Contaminants in soil and groundwater (petroleum hydrocarbon compounds and metals) and sediment (polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, semivolatile organic compounds, and metals) were found at concentrations above state standards established to protect human health and the environment.
Bellingham Bay Demonstration Pilot
The Harris Avenue Shipyard site is one of 12 sites coordinated through the Bellingham Bay Demonstration Pilot. The Pilot is a bay-wide multi-agency effort to clean up contaminated sediment, control sources of sediment contamination, and restore habitat, with consideration for land and water uses. In 2000, participants in this initiative developed the Bellingham Bay Comprehensive Strategy.
Key Documents
- Harris Avenue Shipyard - Final Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Volume I - June 2019
- Harris Avenue Shipyard - Final Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Volume II - June 2019
- Harris Avenue Shipyard - Final Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Attachments - June 2019
- Harris Avenue Shipyard - Response to Comments - RI/FS - June 2019
- Harris Avenue Shipyard - Fact Sheet - RI/FS - March 2019
- Harris Avenue Shipyard - Final Cleanup Action Plan - February 2021
Translated Content
El Departamento de Ecología le invita a revisor los documentos para el sitio que está contaminado Harris Avenue Shipyard en Bellingham.
Si le gustaría recibir documentos en español, por favor llame al 425-240-4353 o envíe un correo electrónico a preguntas@ecy.wa.gov. Traducciones de avisos públicos para los sitios de limpieza de la Bahía de Bellingham se preparan bajo solicitud.
Requesting Accommodation
If you speak a non-English language, free language services are available.
Documents 38
Legal 4
Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
Agreed Order DE: 19450 | 3/4/2021 | Agreed Order |
Harris Avenue Shipyard - Agreed Order Amendment - July 2016 | 7/11/2016 | Agreed Order Amendment |
Harris Avenue Shipyard - 2010 Agreed Order - Uplands RI/FS | 5/1/2010 | Agreed Order |
Harris Avenue Shipyard - 2003 Agreed Order - RI/FS | 8/25/2003 | Agreed Order |
Public Information 16
State Environmental Policy Act 4
Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
DNS | 12/7/2020 | SEPA Documents |
Harris Avenue Shipyard - SEPA Determination and Checklist - December 2020 | 12/7/2020 | SEPA Documents |
Harris Avenue Shipyard - SEPA Checklist and Determination of Non-Significance - March 2015 | 3/4/2015 | SEPA Documents |
Bellingham Bay Comprehensive Strategy - SEPA - Environmental Impact Statement | 10/1/2000 | SEPA Documents |
Technical Reports 14
Places to see print documents
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Northwest Regional Office15700 Dayton Ave NShoreline, 98133Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.
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Ecology Bellingham Field Office913 Squalicum Way, Unit 101Bellingham, 98225This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.
Contaminants 8
Contaminant Type | Soil |
Groundwater |
Surface Water |
Air |
Sediment |
Bedrock |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Other Contaminant - Base/Neutral/Acid Organics | C | |||||
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants | C | C | S | C | ||
Metals - Metals - Other | C | C | S | C | ||
Halogenated Organics - Polychlorinated biPhenyls (PCB) | B | B | S | C | ||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Phenolic Compounds | S | C | ||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | C | B | S | |||
Metals - Arsenic | C | |||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Other | C |
- S
- Suspected
- C
- Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
- B
- Below Cleanup Levels
- RA
- Remediated-Above
- RB
- Remediated-Below
- R
- Remediated