EAGLE HARBOR WYCKOFF

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began several new phases of cleanup at the Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor Superfund Site in August of 2024. They are decommissioning several existing groundwater wells, installing replacement wells, and demolishing the old thermal pilot test system to prepare for future remediation activities. This work is expected to last through the end of 2024. Please read EPA's August Fact Sheet to find out about the multiple phases of cleanup planned at the site and how these activities will impact the community. This fact sheet can also be delivered to you by signing up on EPA’s website.

The perimeter wall replacement is slated to begin sometime in 2025. Please check back for more information regarding the Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor Superfund Site progress on Ecology’s website or on EPA’s website.

Background

Over the years, extensive cleanup actions have been completed in the soil and sediment of the site. The two areas remaining to be cleaned up are the beaches around the point and the former wood treating operations area. The beaches cleanup will include removal of contaminated sediments and capping remaining contamination. Cleanup will begin with demolition of the former thermal pilot test system and replacement of groundwater wells, described above. Future activities include replacing the perimeter sheet pile wall, in-situ soil stabilization, and soil capping.

Areas around the site will continue to be closed off or restricted to the public. This is all to ensure a safe environment for all involved as well as timely cleanup of the areas affected. This minor inconvenience will lead to future safe use of the area for all who want to visit. 

The Wyckoff Superfund Site is on the eastern side of Bainbridge Island, in central Puget Sound. It forms the entry to Eagle Harbor. The site includes the former Wyckoff Company wood-treatment facility and subtidal and intertidal sediments in Eagle Harbor.

A creosote wood-treatment facility operated on the point for 85 years. These operations contaminated the soil and groundwater beneath the Former Process Area (the Point) with chemicals from the wood-treatment process, primarily creosote-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pentachlorophenol (PCP), aromatic carrier oils, and dioxins/furans. These contaminants pose a risk to public health and the environment.

It is in an area of significant wave action, exposed to a wide northeasterly fetch and vulnerable to constant ferry wake. It is located next to an ancestral and important current tribal fishing ground, with established eelgrass beds.

The City of Bainbridge Island and the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District have purchased the Wyckoff property, including the Point, with plans to establish a showcase regional public park. The city owns the Point, while approximately half of the site, including the Japanese-American World War II Exclusion Memorial, are co-owned by the City of Bainbridge and Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District. Development of the park must occur in accordance with requirements stated in the 2006 Agreed Order entered between the Department of Ecology and the City of Bainbridge Island.

EPA listed Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor as a Superfund Site in 1987 and began Superfund cleanup actions in 1991. The Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor Superfund Site encompasses contaminated areas within Eagle Harbor. The Superfund Site was divided into four operable units (OU). Three of these areas (OU’s) are within the subject site of the 2006 Agreed Order, including the East Harbor OU, Wyckoff Soil OU and Wyckoff Groundwater OU. More information about these areas can be found in Ecology’s 2006 Phase III Acquisition Area Fact Sheet or on the EPA webpage.