Blaine Marina Inc

The Department of Ecology recently completed a public comment period for several documents related to cleanup of the site:

• Draft Consent Decree (CD): legal agreement requiring the liable party to complete cleanup at the Site.
• Engineering Design Report (EDR): document that provides details on how to implement a cleanup plan.
• State Environmental Policy Act-Determination of Non-Significance (SEPA DNS): a determination that the cleanup work is not likely to harm the environment

Ecology also hosted a public meeting on May 10, 2018 in Blaine to discuss the site and take questions and comments.  You can view that presentation here.

The comments received by Ecology did not warrant any changes to these documents, and so they became final.  The Port of Bellingham is now proceeding with cleanup efforts under Ecology oversight.

The Blaine Marina, Inc. site is located in the western portion of the Blaine Harbor industrial area.  Most of the site was originally tide flats and sub-tidal areas of Drayton Harbor.  Prior to 1949, the aquatic lands were dredged to create a small boat harbor and marina.  The upland industrial area was created at that time and was generally constructed of hydraulic fill with timber and riprap bulkheads along the shoreline.  The marina was expanded several times since its original construction, but the footprint of the upland industrial area has remained largely unchanged.  The Port has leased this property to Blaine Marina, Inc. for use as a tank farm and fueling facility since the 1950’s.  In 1955, the tenant installed three aboveground storage tanks to store gasoline and diesel fuel for dispensing at the fueling dock, and also for filling tanker trucks for delivery of home heating oil.  The fueling facility now supports commercial and recreational boating activities at the marina.


Environmental investigations between 1990 and 2007 have documented the release of diesel-range and oil-range petroleum hydrocarbons and petroleum associated compounds benzene, ethylbenzene, and xylene in both soil and groundwater.  Some of these releases exceed standards of the state’s cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act, and pose a threat to human health and the environment, so they must be addressed.

• Port of Bellingham

• City of Blaine