Custom Plywood Mill

Facility Site ID: 2685 Cleanup Site ID: 4533

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

Background

Custom Plywood Mill, a waterfront site in Anacortes that was used as a mill and box factory, has undergone extensive clean-up under the state’s Puget Sound Initiative. Historical operation at the Custom Plywood Mill Site includes lumber and milling practices beginning in the early 1900s. Custom Plywood operated at the Site from 1984 until 1991, but all operations ceased following a fire in 1992. Wood waste and chemical contaminants were found in upland soil, groundwater and sediment on the Site, which consists of upland, wetland, intertidal and subtidal in-water areas.

Status

May 2014
May 2014
In March 2008, Ecology and the Potential Liable Person (PLP) - GBH Investments LLC entered into an Agreed Order for site cleanup. The Agreed Order required the PLP to develop a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) work plan to evaluate the nature extent of Site contamination, an RI/FS Report, and a draft Cleanup Action Plan (CAP) for both upland and in-water remediation.

To date, two remedial action phases have been completed at the Site:

Phase I, 2011: Interim remedial action was completed in the upland area. This phase removed contaminated soil and properly disposed of the soil off-site. A wetland mitigation area and vegetated buffer zone covering 12,000 square feet was created in the upland area. The remaining upland portion was hydro-seeded with grasses, and a stormwater bio-swale was built along the southern section.

Phase II, 2013: Interim remedial action was completed over 10 acres of inter-tidal water. Due to navigational hazards, marine pilings and construction debris were also removed. Marine sediment contaminated with dioxins/furans and wood waste were removed and disposed of off-site. Habitat-friendly shoreline was tripled in length by building a new aquatic spit, also known as a jetty extension, that helps prevent wave erosion. The wetlands restored in 2011 were connected to Fidalgo Bay.

Since 2013, Ecology has monitored the beach, epibenthic zooplankton, forage fish spawning, nearshore fish, advanced eelgrass transplants, and wetland mitigation area (wetland, backshore, and upland buffer) of nearshore habitats under the Conservation Measures and Monitoring Plan (CMMP).

Phase III, underway: The final phase of cleanup began in 2021. To clean up dioxins/furans and surficial wood waste in over six acres of sub-tidal area the following activities were performed:

• Dredged approximately 0.4 acres of sediment with more than 25 parts per trillion (ppt) of dioxins/furans and disposed of that sediment off-site.
• Placed a thin-layer cap of two to four inches of sand over approximately 1.6 acres of sub-tidal area within the eelgrass bed.
• Placed a thin-layer cap of four to eight inches of sand over approximately 4.4 acres of sub-tidal area without eelgrass.

Follow-up monitoring over a five-year period, both in-water and in the wetland area is currently in progress.

Site Documents

Additional electronic documents pertaining to the site can be found under the "View Electronic
Documents" link located in the right column. You can also review site documents at the Anacortes Public Library or Department of Ecology Headquarters.

March 7 - April 5,  2019 Public Comment Period Documents
Legal 3
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Custom Plywood- Lien 4/2/2012 Lien related document
In the Matter of Remedial Action by: G B H Investments, LCC 3/11/2008 Agreed Order
Custom Plywood Mill/Agreed Order/November 2007 11/17/2007 Agreed Order
Public Information 7
State Environmental Policy Act 3
Technical Reports 31
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Custom Plywood Mill Site Manager Change Letter March 2024 3/12/2024 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Construction Completion Report Part 3 1/12/2024 Final Cleanup Action Report
Construction Completion Report Part 2 1/12/2024 Final Cleanup Action Report
Construction Completion Report Part 1 1/12/2024 Final Cleanup Action Report
Custom Plywood - SAP/QAPP 1/1/2024 Sampling and Analysis Plan
Phase III Subtidal Sediment Cleanup Sampling and Analysis Plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan 11/1/2022 Sampling and Analysis Plan
Custom Plywood Thin Layer Cap Pilot Study - Ecology Revised February 2019 2/19/2019 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Custom Plywood Phase III - Cleaup Action Plan and Engineering Design Report February 2019 2/13/2019 Cleanup Action Plan
Conservation Measures and Monitoring Report, Year 2_Custom Plywood Interim Remedial Action 5/11/2016 Performance/Confirmational Monitoring Plan or Report
Conservation Measures and Monitoring Report, Year 1_Custom Plywood Interim Remedial Action 6/2/2015 Performance/Confirmational Monitoring Plan or Report
Custom Plywood Thin Layer Capping Pilot Study July 2012 8/1/2014 Remedial Investigation Report
Custom Plywood Final Cleanup Action Plan and Engineering Design Report February 2013 2/19/2013 Cleanup Action Plan
Conservation Measures and Monitoring Plan, Custom Plywood_Phase II 8/15/2012 Performance/Confirmational Monitoring Plan or Report
Custom Plywood Mill Final Summary Response to Public Comments on Interim Action August 2012 8/14/2012 Interim Action Documents
Human Health Risk Assessment Addendum for the Custom Plywood Interim Action Work Plan 7/2/2012 Interim Action Documents
Custom Plywood Mill Summary Response to Public Comment on Interim Action Draft September 2011 9/29/2011 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Custom Plywood Mill Final Remedial Investigation Report Part 4 September 2011 9/29/2011 Remedial Investigation Report
Custom Plywood Mill Final Remedial Investigation Report Part 2 September 2011 9/29/2011 Remedial Investigation Report
Custom Plywood Mill Final Remedial Investigation Report Part 2 September 2011 9/29/2011 Remedial Investigation Report
Custom Plywood Mill Final Remedial Investigation Report Part 1 September 2011 9/29/2011 Remedial Investigation Report
Custom Plywood Mill Final Upland Remediation (Phase I) Engineering Design Report for Interim Action Work Plan September 2011 9/29/2011 Engineering Design Report
Custom Plywood Mill Final Upland Remediation (Phase I) Cleanup Action Plan for Interim Action Work Plan September 2011 9/29/2011 Cleanup Action Plan
Custom Plywood Mill Final Feasibility Study Report for Interim Action Work Plan September 2011 9/29/2011 Feasibility Study
Custom Plywood Final Construction Management Plan 7/7/2011 Engineering Design Report
Custom Plywood Mill Open House Public Meeting Presentation March 2011 3/11/2011 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Appendix C-2, Chain of Custody Forms, Custom Plywood Mill, June 2010 6/30/2010 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Appendix C, Chemistry Laboratoty Reports and Chain-of-Custody Forms, June 2010 6/30/2010 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Biological Evaluation, Emergency Action Project, March 2010 3/1/2010 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Work Plan, Final, September 2008 9/30/2008 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Custom Plywood Mill Historical Evaluation of the Tugboat Enchantress 6/1/2008 Independent Reports
Underwater Habitat Survey, Anacortes Custom Plywood Benthic Study, November 2007 11/30/2007 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Voluntary Cleanup Program 1
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Custom Plywood Mill—NW1323 VCP Termination Letter 4/10/2007 VCP Administrative Document
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Headquarters
    300 Desmond Dr SE
    Lacey, 98503
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.

Contaminants 12

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Other Contaminant - Base/Neutral/Acid Organics R S S
Halogenated Organics - Halogenated Organics C C S S
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants C S S S C
Halogenated Organics - Polychlorinated biPhenyls (PCB) B S S S
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum Products-Unspecified C S R S C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Phenolic Compounds S S S S C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Non-Halogenated Solvents C S S S
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons B C S S C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Methyl tertiary-butyl ether S S S S
Other Contaminant - Bioassay Benthic Failures C
Other Contaminant - Other Deleterious Substances C
Pesticides - Pesticides-Unspecified S S S S
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.