Last month, the Port of Everett began soliciting bids for the final phase of its Everett Shipyard Cleanup project, located along West Marine View Drive between 15th and 14th Street. The mostly in-water cleanup project has a price tag of between $5.2 million and $6 million. The cleanup, which is being done in partnership with the state’s Department of Ecology, will be a catalyst establishing the environmental health and economic prosperity to this highly visible section of the marina, the Port
The project represents the final phase of the Everett Shipyard Cleanup and the first phase of the Central Docks Improvement project. The scope of the contract includes dredging approximately 11,000 cubic yards of sediment (or 700 dump truck loads of contaminated sediment); removing approximately 3,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil along the shoreline; removing old L, M and N-Central Docks; removing hundreds of creosote treated bulkhead and dock pilings; removing the 14th Street haul-out structure; reconstructing approximately 360 linear feet of bulkhead with modern environmentally safe materials; constructing a public access path along the new bulkhead and installing a new public access wharf.
“We as a Port Commission have made restoring the health of our properties and the Puget Sound our top priority,” Port Commissioner Troy McClelland said. “We have 215 acres under cleanup action plans, and we are working hand-in-hand with the Department of Ecology to get these properties cleaned up and back into economic use. The Everett Shipyard Cleanup is a very visible example of this effort, and we will have many more projects like this to come.”
Last fall, the Port of Everett received word from the Department of Ecology that its upland contaminated soil removal for the Everett Shipyard site was complete. The Port removed and safely disposed of 15,000 tons of contaminated soil from the six-acre waterfront property. As much as 100,000 tons of contaminated soil has been removed by the Port of Everett from this and other clean-up sites in the marina area in preparation for restoring the economic vitality of the property. The Port and Ecology invested $2.5 million into the upland cleanup effort.
“We’re pleased to be partnering with the Port on this important project under the state’s Puget Sound Initiative,” said Jim Pendowski, Toxics Cleanup Program manager for the Department of Ecology. “This project is a winner for several reasons – it helps clean up and protect the Sound’s waters, provides jobs and creates long-term economic opportunities, protects people from toxic risks, and improves the local quality of life.”
Bids are due May 28, with award expected in June. Work on the project will begin in August and should wrap up in early 2015. The completion of this cleanup project will mark the start of marina revitalization effort and the launch of Waterfront Place as a new, emerging Waterfront community.
These cleanup efforts are being led by the Port of Everett under a legal agreement (Consent Decree) with the Department of Ecology with funding coming from the Port of Everett, an Ecology Remedial Action Grant funded by a voter-approved tax on hazardous substances, and settlement funds from Everett Shipyard.
The Port of Everett was created in 1918. Today the port is the second largest seaport by economic output, the 3rd largest container port in the state of WA and 5th largest port on the West Coast by export value. The Port of Everett owns 3,000 acres of land, suppors more than 35,000 jobs, generating approximately $4.1 billion in business spending, and $249 million in taxes. The Port of Everett specializes in high and heavy cargoes, such as aerospace, manufacturing, constructing, mining and wind energy.