Weyerhaeuser Mill A

A Puget Sound Initiative site - Reaching the goal of a healthy, sustainable Puget Sound.

From the 1890s to the early 1980s, the Weyerhaeuser Mill A site was used primarily for sawmill and pulp mill operations. The site is part of the Port of Everett’s South Terminal.  

A range of historical industrial activities were performed at this site, including pulp manufacturing, saw milling, ship building, shingle milling, and log handling. The facility produced approximately 300 tons of pulp per day while operating as a sulfite paper mill. Some of the waste materials from this production contributed to the contamination of the site. All pulping operations at the site ceased in 1980. The Port of Everett (the Port) purchased the property in 1983 and used the facility for log handling and storage until the mid-2000s. Currently the Port uses the site for container cargo handling. Samples collected from adjacent marine sediments were found to contain a large volume of wood waste, as well as contaminants including metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phenols, and dioxins/furans. Upland contaminants include metals, PAHs, petroleum, and several semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs).

• January-March 2010: The Port conducts the initial phase of an Independent Upland Source and Groundwater Investigation
• August 2012: Ecology entered into Agreed Order DE8979 with the Potentially Liable Persons – the Port, Weyerhaeuser Company (Weyerhaeuser) and Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
• March 2016: A draft Agreed Order, a draft Interim Action and a draft Public Participation Plan are released for public review and comment. The Potentially Liable Persons to this Agreed Order are the Port and Weyerhaeuser.
• August 2016: An interim cleanup action in a portion of the in-water area was completed to remove contaminated sediment and wood debris to increase navigational access to the terminal.
• June 2024: Agreed Order DE22405 and the associated Interim Action were made final following the public comment period. This interim action will divert stormwater drainage in preparation for the cleanup action at the site. The Potentially Liable Person to this Agreed Order is the Port.
• September 2024: The amendment to Agreed Order DE8979 was finalized and signed, following the public comment period. The amendment allows for continued work on the site to finish the pre-remedial design investigation and the engineering design for the cleanup.  The remedial investigation/feasibility study for the in-water cleanup was also finalized.  

Independent Upland Source and Groundwater Investigation (January 2010)

In January 2010, the Port of Everett conducted the initial phase of an Independent Upland Source and Groundwater Investigation to evaluate potential contamination at the site that may have resulted from historical uses of the property. This independent investigation was conducted in coordination with Ecology who provided technical assistance in the form of review and comment on the site investigation work plan. A report documenting the results of the upland investigation was provided to Ecology in March 2010.

Agreed Order DE8979 (August 2012, Amended September 2024)

This first agreed order for the site is a legal document between Ecology and the Potentially Liable Persons – the Port, Weyerhaeuser and DNR. The 2012 agreed order outlines the agreement to provide remedial action at the site where there has been a release or threatened release of hazardous substances. Notice of this Agreed Order was provided in June 2012.

The amended 2012 Agreed Order DE8979 describes the studies that the Potentially Liable Persons agree to perform on the site and covers the following studies and documents:

• Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study – Explains the work needed to identify and analyze contamination at the Site.
• Draft Cleanup Action Plan – Uses the remedial investigation/feasibility study to identify a preferred cleanup action and a schedule to remove and treat the contamination at the Site. 
• Pre-Remedial Design Investigation – A phase where additional information is gathered before the engineering design can be finalized. 
• Engineering Design – Uses the previous site work and data collected to design a plan to implement the cleanup action.

Agreed Order for an Interim Action DE13119 (March 2016)

This Agreed Order is a legal document between Ecology, the Port, and Weyerhaeuser for a proposed interim cleanup action in the in-water area (off-shore of Pacific Terminal). An Interim Action is a remedial action required to partially address cleanup of the site. Action took place during the 2016/2017 in-water work window as allowed by the Army Corps of Engineers permit for the project.

The Interim Action removed contaminated sediment and wood debris identified at the site and increased navigational access to Pacific Terminal. This work included dredging, transport and disposal of contaminated sediment and wood debris to an approved landfill facility. Dredged material suitable for open water disposal was placed on a disposal barge and transported to the open water disposal site. The action also included installing armor and habitat mix (rounded sand and gravel materials) along areas where a temporary side slope remains. Further details regarding the technical elements of the Interim Action can be found in Exhibit B (Interim Action Work Plan) of the proposed Agreed Order. An Interim Action report, documenting the cleanup actions taken, was written following the action and evaluated as a part of the final cleanup action for the site as identified in the 2012 Agreed Order.

Agreed Order DE22405 and Interim Action Plan (June 2024)

Agreed Order DE22405 requires the Port of Everett to perform an Interim Action to reconfigure and upgrade the stormwater collection and treatment system in the Upland area of the site. This Agreed Order is a legal document between Ecology and the Port. The draft Agreed Order and draft Interim Action Plan went out for public comment in April 2024. Ecology received two comments during that time. No changes were made to the draft documents following the comment period. The Agreed Order was made effective June 5, 2024. The response to comments is included in the documents on this site. The Port is planning to complete the Interim Action during 2024. 

The Port is developing the draft remedial investigation and feasibility study for the uplands portion of the site.  A data gap investigation was finished in 2024 and will be incorporated into the draft remedial investigation and feasibility study.

The Port is progressing work on the pre-remedial design investigation for the in-water portion of the site.  This investigation will be used to collect the remaining data needed to complete the engineering design for the project.  Once the engineering design is finalized the Port, Weyerhaeuser, and Ecology will have finished Agreed Order DE8979.  Before finishing the Agreed Order, the parties will start conversations for setting up a new Agreed Order or Consent Decree for the site to complete the cleanup actions.