Around the Sound: Join us July 14 to talk about Everett's East Waterway

By Darrah Johnson, Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist, Toxics Cleanup Program

East Waterway in recent times.

We’re going to hold a public meeting on July 14 about evolving plans to clean up the East Waterway site in Everett. (See meeting details below.) A proposed legal agreement and draft public participation plan are available for public review and comment through July 30.

The waterway is located in Port Gardner Bay in the Everett Harbor area at the mouth of the Snohomish River, directly west of downtown Everett.

Since the early 1900s, the waterway has been an industrial area that included pulp-and-paper manufacturing, shipyard work, and other activities.

The Navy operated a shipyard in Everett during World War II.

In 2012, Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc. closed its pulp-and-paper operations, then filed for permits to demolish the facility and ready the property for sale.

The proposed legal agreement outlines the steps involved parties (Kimberly-Clark, the Port of Everett and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources) will take to investigate the contamination and propose options for cleanup work. The draft public participation plan explains how people can learn about and take part in the cleanup process.

The meeting will focus on the current status of the waterway, but will also provide an overview of the other 10 cleanup sites throughout Port Gardner Bay that are being cleaned up under the Puget Sound Initiative. People can ask questions, and learn more about the cleanup process.

The former Kimberly-Clark mill as seen from East Waterway.

On July 14, an open house will start at 6 p.m. in the Mt. Baker Room at the Everett Transit Station, 3201 Smith Ave., Suite 131. A presentation will begin at 6:45 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. The meeting is scheduled to end at 8:30 p.m.