East Waterway

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

The East Waterway Site (Site) was developed in the early 1900s and was used as a pulp and paper manufacturing facility for about 80 years. The Site is located in the Everett Harbor area, near the mouth of the Snohomish River and directly west of downtown Everett. The Site is a deepwater port and industrial area with multiple sources of sediment contamination including historical discharges and log-rafting, which contributed to high levels of wood waste. The waterway has been used primarily for saw milling, pulp and paper manufacturing, deepwater shipping, log rafting and storage, and naval activities. It has also been used to store wood chips and hog fuel on barges.
 
After merging with Scott Paper Company in 1995, Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. (K-C) became the owner of the pulp and paper mill. K-C operated the mill until 2012, when it filed for permits to demolish the facility to ready the property for sale and redevelopment. Demolition began in summer 2012 and was completed by July 2013. In the 1970s, the Port of Everett (Port) developed part of the East Waterway into a cargo shipment facility. K-C, the Port, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Department of the Navy (Navy) have been identified as Potentially Liable Persons (PLPs) at the Site.

Industrial and municipal activities have led to multiple sources of sediment contamination. Log rafting contributed to high levels of wood debris. Various environmental investigations at the Site conducted from the 1980s to early 2015 found marine sediments contaminated with: metals (arsenic, mercury, zinc, copper, lead), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) including phenol, total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins/furans.

• 2012: Ecology and K-C enter into an Agreed Order (AO) to clean up the upland area to the east of the Site and next to the waterway. The East Waterway is not included in the upland area AO.
• 2016: To clean up remaining in-water contaminants, Ecology pursued two separate AOs. Ecology entered into the first AO with K-C, the Port and DNR on February 16, 2016 to research and identify hazardous substances at the East Waterway Site. This includes upland sources that could potentially release contaminants to the in-water area. Any such contaminants identified would be addressed under a draft Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) and Draft Cleanup Action Plan (DCAP).
• 2018: Ecology entered into a second AO with the Navy (a PLP) on January 9, 2018. The agreement between Ecology and the Navy outlines Navy cooperation in the completion of the RI/FS and DCAP, which includes, but is not limited to, providing access to its property and available data, and review and comment on draft reports.
• 2024: RI/FS activities are temporarily on hold at East Waterway as the Port of Everett prioritizes resources at the Mill-A Site (CSID: 2146) cleanup.

Learn more about Washington's Cleanup Process. 

The site is temporarily on hold while the Port establishes a new contract for the expanded site and selects a consultant. Work on the RI/FS will continue once the consultant has been selected.