Scott Paper Mill

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

From the late 1800s to 1978, a lumber mill and later a pulp mill operated at the site. More recently, multiple entities used the site as a log yard, a staging area for oil field equipment, boat manufacturing, storage and modular home assembly. Seafarers’ Memorial Park now occupies the northern part of the site; the southern portion is mostly vacant.

The mills left behind widespread contamination from their operations, ranging from wood waste to industrial chemicals. For example, the pulp mill used wastes from the lumber mill and discharged wastewater directly to Fidalgo Bay. Soil contaminants found above Washington State cleanup levels included metals, diesel and motor oil-range petroleum hydrocarbons, carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (cPAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins/furans. Many of these contaminants were also found in groundwater (low levels) and nearby marine sediments.

In 1999, the Port of Anacortes and Sun Healthcare Systems conducted an independent cleanup action to remove petroleum-contaminated soil and wood debris on one of the parcels within the site. The Washington State Department of Ecology, through the Puget Sound Initiative, worked with the Port of Anacortes and Kimberly-Clark (which had purchased Scott Paper) to clean up the remaining contamination and restore the area’s environment. Cleanup was completed in 2012. Now the former mill site features a beautiful waterfront park, which provides unprecedented public access to the shores of Fidalgo Bay. This successful cleanup shows how the public and private sectors can work together to protect the environment and human health, and provide benefits to the local community.

Because of the remaining contamination and requirements of the environmental covenant, periodic reviews are required for the Site. Ecology will review the conditions of the environmental covenant and the physical condition of the site every five years to ensure the cleanup work remains protective of human health and the environment.

Learn more about Washinton's Cleanup Process.