'Malarkey' cleanup pits port, activists

"Malarkey" is the name long associated with the polluted tract along the Duwamish River where an asphalt plant operated for decades. It's also what community activists are saying about the latest cleanup plan for the site proposed by the Port of Seattle.

But the port says its plan for the property it rechristened "Terminal 117" is fine because the waterfront land in the South Park neighborhood always will be industrial property, with no access by the public. There, port officials reason, cleanup levels don't need to be as strict as if homes or offices were planned.

The two sides square off tonight at an open house and public meeting called by the port and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Basically, the disagreement is about how much pollution can be left in the soil under the site, considering that it will be covered with asphalt so that people are unlikely to come in contact with it. It's one of the first cleanups scheduled on a massive Superfund site extending along much of the Duwamish.

"We thought the port was going to do the right thing, step up and do a proper cleanup," said Bill Pease, a board member of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. "It's time to stand up and start screaming."

His group sent out postcards asking, "What is the future of our river?" On one side, big trucks are parked behind a chain-link fence, the kind of land use to be allowed under the port's plan. On the other side is a different vision: a tree-shaded office building, with people lounging along a green river bank.

The port, though, says it owns the land, plans to keep the land, and it's going with the parking lot. Or a warehouse. Or something that can be fenced off from the public, and where no one will work on a regular basis. That way, officials can make absolutely sure no one comes in contact with the PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, that leaked on the land while it was an asphalt plant.

"For an industrial land use, this is a safe (contamination) level. For the river, this is a safe level, and monitoring will ensure that that's the case," said Wayne Grotheer, the port's director of seaport finance and asset management. "We're not out there to do fundamental changes in the use of the land. We're just trying to get it cleaned up for what it's being used for now."

Currently, the 3-acre property is used mostly for warehouse storage.

The EPA must approve any cleanup plan. The agency says it will evaluate the port's proposal based on the "reasonably expected future land use." A parking lot doesn't have to be as clean as a day care center.

"We'll make sure that whatever we do is protective of that particular land use," said Sheila Eckman, a manager in EPA's Seattle-based Superfund cleanup office. "Should the land use change in the future, nothing we're doing precludes" further cleanup.

City Councilman Richard Conlin plans to appear at the meeting to recommend stricter cleanup standards. Conlin, who is chairman of the council's committee handling environmental matters, noted that the area is designated as commercial, not industrial, in the South Park neighborhood plan.

"We're basically suggesting the proposal coming to EPA doesn't go far enough," Conlin said. "It's always possible to go back and clean up more later, but you usually save money and time if you do it all the first time."

Actually, this is the second time the property is being decontaminated. The port paid about $1 million for the first cleanup, assuming title to the property after the former owner had closed the asphalt plant. But neighbors later insisted on further testing.

Extremely high PCB levels -- more than 900 times the level that normally requires a cleanup -- were found.

Under the new port plan, "We're removing the bulk of contaminants from that site," said Ravi Sanga, EPA's project manager. Agency officials want to approve the cleanup plan in time for excavation of soil to take place before the autumn rains start.

PCB levels run as high as 9,200 parts PCB per 1 million parts of soil. Industrial cleanups typically require leaving no more than 10 parts PCB per 1 million parts soil. That's what the port proposes for the top 2 feet of soil, which would be covered by asphalt. Underneath that, they want to leave contamination at up to 25 parts per million.

The cost savings is significant: The port's plan would cost about $6 million. Cleaning up to the normal 10 parts per million level would cost about $9 million. And doing a job good enough to allow residential development on the waterfront property -- just 1 part PCB per million parts soil -- would cost at least $12 million, Grotheer said.

BJ Cummings, coordinator of the cleanup coalition, said port officials need to look beyond the cleanup costs.

"What is the land worth if you can only use it for industrial parking and storage, and what is it worth the port if it's clean?" she said. "We want the port commissioners to look into this. We're not convinced it makes financial sense for the port, which is also (funded by) public money."

MEETING TONIGHT

An open house is scheduled at 6:30 tonight, with a public meeting to follow at 7, concerning the Port of Seattle's plan for cleaning up the Malarkey site, also known as Terminal 117, at Concord Elementary School, 723 S. Concord St. For more information, contact Cindy Shuster of the Environmental Protection Agency at 206-553-1815 or shuster.cindy@epa.gov. To read the plan, go to yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/LDW/Technical+Documents or the Georgetown Gospel Chapel, 6606 Carleton Ave. S., 206-767-3207; or EPA Records Center, 1200 Sixth Ave., 206-553-4494.

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