The state Department of Ecology is seeking comment on a legal agreement with the Port of Bellingham for cleanup at a polluted site on the waterfront in Fairhaven.
Harris Avenue Shipyard is one of 12 cleanup sites around Bellingham Bay that have been contaminated by decades of municipal and industrial practices.
Shipbuilding activities began in the early 1900s at the end of Harris Avenue in Fairhaven, leaving petroleum hydrocarbon compounds and metals in the groundwater and soil, and polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, semivolatile organic compounds and metals in the water.
The shipyard site consists of around 5 acres of contaminated soil and groundwater (upland area) and 5 acres of contaminated marine sediment. The legal agreement, called a consent decree, pertains to the upland area only. The public comment period closes March 12, and if at least 10 people request a public meeting or hearing about the consent decree, Ecology will hold a meeting.
Cleanup of the upland area, estimated to cost $6.5 million, is scheduled to happen later this year. The Port can be reimbursed for up to half their costs incurred. The in-water cleanup, which likely won’t begin until 2027, is estimated to cost $21.5 million.
Local nonprofit RE Sources will host an on-site walking tour of the shipyard for the public on Feb. 26 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Ecology and Port staff will be there to provide project information and answer questions. Tour attendees should sign up at this link and meet at 201 Harris Avenue, at the entrance in the parking lot where Harris Avenue ends.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
