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.

• December 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.

The draft AO is a legal document between Ecology and the PLPs which outlines the agreement to provide remedial action at the Site where there has been a release or threatened release of hazardous substances. The AO describes the studies the PLPs agree to perform on the Site and provides guidance on the draft Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS), Draft Cleanup Action Plan (DCAP) and interim actions.

Both the RI/FS and DCAP will be completed at a later stage of the cleanup process. The RI/FS will identify the types, locations and amounts of contaminants including upland sources that could potentially release contaminants to the in-water area. It will also identify cleanup options for those contaminants. The DCAP will select the preferred cleanup option and explain how cleanup will be conducted. Interim actions may be completed during cleanup if required by Ecology.

• 2016: To clean up remaining in-water contaminants, Ecology is pursuing 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 will be addressed under a draft RI/FS and DCAP. Currently, the RI work plan is being developed.
• April 2017: A draft AO with the Navy (a PLP) is released for 30-day review and comment. This is the second AO. The proposed 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.

A selection of documents are listed below. Click on the Fact Sheet for more details.
 
Additional electronic documents pertaining to the site can be found linked on this page. You can also review site documents at the Everett Public Library or Department of Ecology Headquarters.

Public Involvement Materials

Technical Documents