Today we’re sharing a reminder from the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition about an important chance for you to have a voice in a big piece of the Duwamish cleanup plan. The plant shown in the September 1940 Boeing photo above made a lot of history, but also a lot of pollution, that’s finally about to be cleaned up. From DRCC:

The Boeing Plant 2 toxic cleanup is in progress!

You may have noticed that some of the old Boeing Plant 2 building along the Duwamish River has already been demolished. This is the first step towards cleanup and restoration of the site. The Boeing Company will pay to remove the contaminated mud from the river and in the upland areas below the old facility. This is currently the river’s most toxic site, and its cleanup will be a huge step forward for the river’s cleanup and restoration progress. Your comments are needed!

DRCC/TAG is reviewing the proposed cleanup plan, and will submit formal comments by the deadline on May 28th.

We want to hear your comments and questions: james@duwamishcleanup.org / 206-954-0218

We will have this information translated into Spanish by next week and work with local bilingual & Latino community organizations to educate the community about the cleanup plan, and receive comments from Spanish-speakers, and other language groups. Please help us spread the word!

EPA will accept written comments from the public on their cleanup plans for Boeing plant 2 until May 28, 2011. This is the only opportunity for the public to give opinions on plans for the cleanup at the Boeing Plant 2 site.

* Comments can be sent to EPA via email to: blocker.shawn@epa.gov.
* Please cc: DRCC/TAG on emails at: contact@duwamishcleanup.org
* Standard postal mail comments can be sent to:

U.S. EPA, Region 10
ATTN: Shawn Blocker
1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, AWT-121
Seattle WA, 98101

Click ahead to read what DRCC has recommended and is commenting:

Our Comments & Recommendations:

1. DRCC supports EPA’s selected cleanup options – N2 (north bank) and S4 (south bank) remove the most contaminated mud, provide the thickest barrier, and are less vulnerable to earthquake damage.

2. Extreme care needs to be taken to prevent the spread of contaminated mud during dredging, because escaping mud could wash up on South Park beaches or other river access points.

3. The cleanup needs to be coordinated with pollution control efforts up- and downriver or the area could be recontaminated. It is important to protect our investment in cleanup, as well as to ensure long-term protection of the environment and people’s health.

Please direct your questions to: james@duwamishcleanup.org / 206-954-0218

P.S. Last fall, WSB toured the Duwamish with representatives from local government entities who gave a general overview of the waterway – not specifics of who polluted and where, but if you are new and don’t know what all this is about – or if you appreciate how beautiful this industrialized waterway is, even now – take a look at the video Christopher Boffoli shot during the tour (you see Plant 2 a few times during the video, from river level):