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THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013
Vol. CXXIV, No. 50
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Since 1890
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Dept. of Ecology seeks public input on Asarco smelter cleanup plan The Washington Department of Ecology has released a draft plan for cleaning up residential yards polluted by the former Asarco smelter in Tacoma. The public is invited to review and comment on the plan through April 29. Starting this year, the Residential Yard Sampling and Cleanup Program will provide soil sampling within the service area, and clean up homeowners' yards that have levels of arsenic at or more than 100 parts per million (ppm) or lead at or more than 500 ppm. The Yard Program service area covers three regions: the one-square-mile Ruston/North Tacoma Study Area (Superfund site); about 3,900 homes in west Tacoma outside the Superfund site; and more than 700 homes on southern Vashon-Maury Island. The Department of Ecology is using funding from a $94.6 million bankruptcy settlement with Asarco to sample 4,600 yards and clean up the 1,200 that may qualify for cleanup. This is a voluntary program, so some homeowners may choose not to participate. More than half of the cleanups will happen inside the Superfund site. Over the past 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversaw the Superfund cleanup of yards with 230 ppm arsenic or higher. Ecology will now offer cleanup for about 700 yards that did not qualify for EPA's program. "Our first cleanups will happen inside the Superfund site because we already have EPA's soil sampling data for those yards," said Department of Ecology cleanup manager Amy Hargrove. "This area still has some of the highest arsenic levels we know of, making cleanup a high priority." Later this year, the Department of Ecology will
Port could spend $6M to upgrade straddle carrier eet Posted online Weds., March 13 Photo Courtesy Port of Tacoma The Port of Tacoma could soon upgrade the equipment it uses to move containers by spending $6 million on five new straddle carriers. According to staff, the port currently has 27 straddle carriers in its fleet, including eight that are more than 20 years old. The new straddle carriers the port plans to purchase are manufactured by Kalmar and consistent with the Port's existing fleet. The new equipment will replace four straddle carriers that are at the end of their lifecycle and one that was damaged in an accident. The new equipment would arrive at the port by the end of this year.
The Port of Tacoma Commission is scheduled Thursday to vote on whether to direct staff to begin negotiations with Cargotec for the purchase of the equipment. In addition, commissioners will also consider design work for a stormwater treatment system at the West Hylebos log yard, and receive a progress report on developing a Land Use and Transportation Plan to support the port's 2012-2022 Strategic Plan. The commission meeting will be held on Thurs., March 14 at noon in Room 104 of The Fabulich Center, located at 3600 Port of Tacoma Road. Meetings are available live and on demand on the port's Web site.
begin soil sampling on southern Vashon-Maury Island and possibly in west Tacoma. Cleanup will follow at least a year behind sampling and will likely take until 2021 to complete. "Over the next few years, we will go neighborhood by neighborhood to contact homeowners eligible for soil sampling or cleanup. However, we encourage people to contact us and sign up now," noted Hargrove. The former Asarco copper smelter sat on the border of Ruston and north Tacoma. Emissions from the facility contaminated a 1,000-square-mile area of surface soils with arsenic and lead. Arsenic and lead are toxic metals and can pose a health risk, especially to children. Cleanup will mostly involve removing contaminated soils to a depth of 12 to 18 inches and replacing it with clean fill and new landscaping. Where
soil cannot be removed, Ecology may provide a protective covering of soil or landscaping material. Ecology is also promoting environmentally friendly landscaping options that reduce water, pesticide, and fertilizer use. More information about the Yard Program, a service area map and public comment period documents are available online at ecy.wa.gov/programs/ tcp/sites_brochure/tacoma_smelter/2011/ts-hp.htm. Comments can be sent to Amy Hargrove, Toxics Cleanup Program, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47775, Olympia, WA 98504-7775 or Amy.Hargrove@ ecy.wa.gov. Residents of the Ruston/North Tacoma Superfund area can find soil sampling data and whether their yard was already cleaned online at https://fortress. wa.gov/ecy/areispublic/.