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 located at 3500 Terminal Avenue at 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 currently 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).

The site is in the early stages of the cleanup process:

• January-March 2010: The Port conducts the initial phase of an Independent Upland Source and Groundwater Investigation
• August 2012: Ecology enters into an agreed order with the potentially liable parties – 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 Parties to this Agreed Order are the Port and Weyerhaeuser.
• August 2016: An interim cleanup action in a portion of the in-water area began to remove contaminated sediment and wood debris to increase navigational access to
  the terminal.
• April 2024: A draft Agreed Order and a Draft Interim Action plan are released for public comment. This interim action will divert stormwater drainage in preparation for the cleanup action at the site. The Potentially Liable Parties to this Agreed Order are the Port and Weyerhaeuser.
  
  

Additional information on the work accomplished to-date is provided below.
 
 
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 (August 2012)

This first agreed order for the site is a legal document between Ecology and the Potentially Liable Parties (PLP) – 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 2012 agreed order describes the studies that the Potentially Liable Parties agree to perform on the site and covers the following studies and documents:

• Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) – Explains the work needed to identify and analyze contamination at the Site.
• Draft Cleanup Action Plan – Uses the RI/FS to identify a preferred cleanup action and a schedule to remove and treat the contamination at the Site.

Draft Agreed Order for an Interim Action (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 increase 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.

Draft Agreed Order and Interim Action Plan (April 2024)

This agreed order requires the Port of Everett to perform an Interim Action at the Weyerhaeuser Mill A site. It outlines the contamination at the site, the determinations that Ecology has made for the site, the purpose of the Interim Action, and the work that will be performed.

The Draft Interim Action Plan documents the need for an Interim Action and the scope of work to be completed at the site. Ecology determined that stormwater needed to be diverted at this site prior to site cleanup.