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Ecology seeks public comment on Whatcom Waterway cleanup

Tour on May 3 educates public on site’s past and future

Lucy McInerney
Lucy McInerney (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)
By Olivia Palmer News Intern

Beneath the surface of Whatcom Waterway lies a story of historic contamination. This month, community members have a chance to shape that story. 

Whatcom Waterway is one of 12 sites around Bellingham Bay listed under the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), a state environmental cleanup law responsible for the investigation, cleanup and prevention of contaminated sites. Through May 23, community members can contribute public comments on amendments to the site’s cleanup action plan. 

Roughly 30 community members gathered at the Granary Building May 3 for a tour of Whatcom Waterway, led by RE Sources in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Bellingham.  

Public engagement efforts like MTCA site tours, funded by Ecology’s Public Participation Grant, play an important role in helping community members make the most of public comment opportunities, said Eleanor Hines, lead scientist and North Sound waterkeeper at RE Sources.

“You dive into the technical documents, they’re sometimes 700 pages long,” Hines said. “We feel like it’s really important that people understand the material that’s in those so that they can participate in the public comment process, if they so choose.” 


photo

People enjoy the sunshine at Waypoint Park. The park and the condominiums are early steps in the development of the waterfront.

(Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)


Whatcom Waterway is Bellingham’s largest MTCA site, stretching more than 700 acres from the Holly Street bridge out into Bellingham Bay. To the east, the waterway’s waves lap against the shores of Waypoint Park. To the west, they meet the rock wall of an aerated stabilization basin separating the site from Zuanich Point Park.  

Once a mudflat and abundant source of shellfish for the Coast Salish peoples, the area now bears an unmistakable mark of Bellingham’s industrial past. The site’s underwater sediment contains contaminants like mercury, 4-methyphenol and dioxin/furan compounds from past log rafting and pulp mill activities, and from the former Georgia-Pacific West chlor-alkali plant.  

In 2016, Ecology and the Port completed an initial phase of cleanup, removing roughly 10,000 dump trucks’ worth of contaminated sediment from the waterway and restoring more than half a mile of shoreline. Now, community members have the chance to weigh in on amendments to the site’s second phase of cleanup. 

The amendments reflect changes in the site’s intended future use. The Port initially had plans to turn the aerated stabilization basin (ASB) near Zuanich Point Park into a new marina, but changed course to better fit community needs and support the marine trades industry, said Brian Gouran, Port of Bellingham director of environmental and planning services. 


When a site’s land use changes, its cleanup action plan must also change to match. 

“Clean is the goal of the original cleanup action plan, and clean is also the same goal of the amended cleanup action plan,” said Ian Fawley, public involvement coordinator with Ecology. 

Under the proposed phase two amendments, the Port and Ecology could begin dredging the outer channel of the waterway as soon as August 2023 to help accommodate traffic from the Bellingham Shipping Terminal. Further down the line, the ASB would be split in half, with one side deepened by 25 feet and connected to the waterway, and the other filled to create a 14-acre upland property. The Port would also install a fish passage structure in the western corner of the basin. 

photo  Brian Gouran, director of environmental and planning services for the Port of Bellingham, talks about the downtown waterfront project. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)  

Fawley said Ecology intends to use sediment dredged from the waterway’s inner channel and the deepened section of the ASB to fill the upland half of the basin. Then, that sediment will be covered by a layer of clean materials, isolating the contaminants.  

Specific future uses of the basin remain to be seen — but Gouran said the focus will fall in line with the Port’s marine trades redevelopment efforts, whether it be providing space for dry stack storage, fishing or other activities.  

As Ecology plans to move forward with Whatcom Waterway cleanup efforts, Hines said asking questions and engaging in public comment opportunities is vital in shaping the future of Bellingham’s shared waterfront resources. 

“It’s really important, as this area does become more open to our community, that we make sure it is something we all love and appreciate because it is our waterfront,” she said. “There’s so many different kinds of opportunities on this one waterfront, and everybody brings a different perspective to it.” 

MTCA cleanups aren’t completed quickly; Whatcom Waterway’s second phase of cleanup likely won’t conclude until 2028. Nevertheless, Fawley said strong partnerships between Ecology, the Port, the city and community organizations like RE Sources are invaluable in creating positive change. 

Just past the Granary Building, cyclists cruise along a pump track and children giggle down the slide of a small playground. This area, like Whatcom Waterway, was once also listed as an MTCA site. To Gouran, that transformation gives a taste of future possibility. 

“It’s taken a long time, but we’re starting to see the elements come together,” Gouran said. “And it’s just so exciting to be part of something that is a generational change to our community.” 

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