Thursday, August 22, 2013

Around the Sound: Rayonier Mill cleanup schedule update

By Marian Abbett, Site Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

We have revised our estimated timeline (PDF) for drafting a cleanup plan for the Rayonier Mill Study Area. Rayonier is still on schedule with their agreed order tasks. However, the work will take longer than we thought because of a delay in finalizing the Port Angeles Harbor Sediments Investigation reports.

Port Angeles Sediments Investigation Shifts Timeline

Ecology finalized the sediment study reports in December 2012. The study became far more complex than we anticipated and took longer as a result. In addition, stakeholders asked for an extended public comment period on the reports. It also took longer than planned to review and respond to all of the questions and comments we received.

The good news is the additional work got us a lot closer to identifying those potentially liable for cleanup in other parts of the harbor. As a result, this year we entered into an agreed order with five potentially liable parties to investigate contamination and evaluate cleanup options for the Western Port Angeles Harbor cleanup site.

Estimated Timeline

The Rayonier Mill agreed order does not set calendar due dates because all of the tasks build on previous tasks. For example, Rayonier’s agency review draft marine data summary report was due 90 days after they received the final sediment study reports.

Rayonier is using the data in the sediment study reports to complete their marine data summary report. Rayonier’s public review draft marine report is due in late September 2013. This means that the agreed order work will likely finish in May 2015.

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