The EPA sent word this morning (with this flyer) that cleanup starts next month at the Harbor Island Superfund site, and it’s planning a drop-in info event tomorrow at Seacrest, 4-6 pm, for anyone with questions. Here’s the announcement:

Lockheed West Seattle is one of the remaining areas to be cleaned up at the Harbor Island Superfund site.

The Lockheed Martin Corporation, as the Potentially Responsible Party for the cleanup, will remove contamination from a 40-acre area in the northwest corner of the mouth of the West Waterway and north of the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5. An estimated total of 167,000 cubic yards of contaminated material will be removed over the course of the cleanup, reducing site risks to human health and the environment. Of that total, more than 151,000 cubic yards of sediment will be dredged from the sub-tidal area and an additional 15,800 cubic yards will be excavated or dredged from the shoreline and intertidal area.

For the cleanup, Lockheed Martin will:

-Remove pilings and debris.
-Dredge and dispose of sediments, pilings and debris at a permitted off-site landfill.
-Add a thin layer of clean sand across the entire site to enhance natural recovery and cover dredged areas.
-Continue the Washington State Department of Health fish advisory so people are aware of risks from eating contaminated seafood. The fish consumption advisory, warning individuals not to consume contaminated resident seafood caught in the waterway, is in place. However, salmon are safe to eat since they only pass through Elliott Bay and do not live year-round in the bay.

The cleanup work begins mid-August of 2018 and will be done in the spring of 2019.