Port of Seattle Terminal 30

Ecology held a comment period from February 10, 2017-March 13, 2017. Ecology did receive comments during the comment period. No significant changes were made to the public comment documents. The Consent Decree and State Environmental Policy Act documents are being finalized.

The Port of Seattle’s Terminal 30 property is 33.9 acres and is located at 1901 East Marginal Way South in Seattle, Washington. The cleanup Site (where cleanup is occurring) is approximately 11 acres (one large area and one small area) in the northern portion of the property. Terminal 30 is located along the East Waterway across from Harbor Island. The East Waterway is part of the Harbor Island Superfund Site and is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Before the 1900s, the land where Terminal 30 is located was part of the Elliot Bay tide flats. In order to facilitate development in the area, the flats were filled with various materials including dredged soils.  One of the first industrial operations on the site was the Standard Oil Company (now Chevron) bulk fuel terminal, located in the northern portion site in 1905. During this time, a variety of fuels and petroleum products were stored at the site.  Until 1950, the southern portion was used for a variety of purposes including as a lumber yard, a machine shop, and a shipyard. In 1950, Chevron expanded the fuel terminal to the southern portion of the site. 
 
In 1985, the Port of Seattle purchased the site from Chevron and redeveloped the site as a container terminal. From 2003-2008 the site included a cruise ship terminal. Terminal 30 currently operates as a freight terminal and also provides temporary freight storage.

Contamination at this site is primarily due to its historic use as a fuel terminal.  Leaks, spills, other discharges and releases of petroleum from above-ground petroleum storage tanks, piping and equipment resulted in contamination of the site's groundwater and soil.

Cleanup work on the site began in the 1980s when Chevron discovered petroleum contamination in the soil and groundwater.

• In 1984, Chevron installed the first set of monitoring wells on the site to determine the amount and extent of contamination.
• In 1985, the Port of Seattle purchased the site and entered into an agreement with Ecology that established cleanup criteria.
• In 1991, Ecology determined that the provisions of the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) required additional study and cleanup on the Site. Ecology and the Port of Seattle entered into a new legal agreement called an Agreed Order. The 1991 Agreed Order instructed the Port of Seattle to undertake additional remedial investigation and a feasibility study of remedial (cleanup) alternatives for the Site. 
• In 2013, Ecology amended the Agreed Order to include the requirement that the Port of Seattle prepare a draft Cleanup Action Plan for the site.
• In 2017, Ecology issued a Consent Decree for these final cleanup actions: installation of an air-sparging system and removal of free product.
• In May 2019, construction of the air-sparging system will begin.

 
The current contaminants of concern at the Site include soil and groundwater contaminants.

Contaminants in the soil include:

• Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)

Contaminants in the groundwater include:

• Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), including gasoline, diesel, and motor oil range hydrocarbons.
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) including benzene.
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

An on-site stormwater management system treats stormwater runoff using oil/water separators and filters before discharging the water into the East Waterway. Contaminated groundwater does not enter the on-site stormwater system.