Western Port Angeles Harbor Sediment Cleanup

Client: Western Port Angeles Harbor Group
Project coordination and implementation of a multiparty priority sediment cleanup and restoration Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) under the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA).

Overview of Floyd|Snider Contributions

Lead consultant of a five-party potentially liable party (PLP) group
Strategic regulatory and Tribal negotiations
Advance planning around strategic infrastructure issues given site’s remote location, including use of sediment transload facility
Collaborative approach with agency, the Western Port Angeles Harbor Group (WPAH Group), and teaming partners
Western Port Angeles Harbor

Project Summary

Port Angeles Harbor (Harbor) is a large natural harbor located on the northern coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in Port Angeles, Washington.

Over the past 130 years, operations within or adjacent to the Harbor resulting in sediment contamination included sawmills, plywood manufacturing, pulp and paper production, other wood processing-related operations, commercial fishing and fish packing, bulk fuel facilities, boat building, marinas, and marine shipping and transport. The Harbor has been identified as a priority sediment cleanup and restoration project by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) as part of the Puget Sound Initiative. The five-party PLP group (WPAH Group) and Ecology entered into an Agreed Order to conduct an RI/FS in 2013. Members of the WPAH

Group include Port of Port Angeles; Georgia-Pacific LLC; Nippon Paper Industries USA Co., Ltd.; City of Port Angeles; and Merrill & Ring. The final RI/FS was approved in November 2020. The public comment period for the draft Cleanup Action Plan and draft Consent Decree ended on February 18, 2025, with the execution of the Consent Decree expected in fall 2025.

Port Angeles Harbor (Harbor) is a large natural harbor located on the northern coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in Port Angeles, Washington. Over the past 130 years, operations within or adjacent to the Harbor resulting in sediment contamination included sawmills, plywood manufacturing, pulp and paper production, other wood processing-related operations, commercial fishing and fish packing, bulk fuel facilities, boat building, marinas, and marine shipping and transport. The Harbor has been identified as a priority sediment cleanup and restoration project by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) as part of the Puget Sound Initiative. The five-party PLP group (WPAH Group) and Ecology entered into an Agreed Order to conduct an RI/FS in 2013. Members of the WPAH

Group include Port of Port Angeles; Georgia-Pacific LLC; Nippon Paper Industries USA Co., Ltd.; City of Port Angeles; and Merrill & Ring. The final RI/FS was approved in November 2020. The public comment period for the draft Cleanup Action Plan and draft Consent Decree ended on February 18, 2025, with the execution of the Consent Decree expected in fall 2025.

Sediment Cleanup and Exposure Areas

Our Approach

Floyd|Snider was the lead common consultant and project coordinator for the WPAH Group and worked collaboratively with Ecology and stakeholders to develop technical approaches for the project and the RI/FS over a period of several years.

Floyd|Snider led development and implementation of an RI Work Plan, data interpretation and analyses, negotiation of remedial alternatives, and preparation of the final RI/FS and draft Cleanup Action Plan. The RI/FS was prepared in accordance with the revised Sediment Management Standards and includes the implementation of regional background sediment targets as determined by Ecology for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins/furans, and mercury measured using surface-weighted average concentrations. Based on detailed RI/FS evaluations and public and stakeholder reviews, the cleanup remedy uses permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable, while also achieving cleanup standards within a reasonable time frame, and includes 1,130 acres of monitored natural recovery and enhanced monitored natural recovery (EMNR), 42 acres of engineered capping, and 8 acres of partial or full removal. Sediment cleanup levels are targeted to be achieved throughout the Harbor 10 years after 6 seasons of EMNR and cap construction.

Project Milestones

2020. Final RI/FS approved by Ecology
2025. Public comment for draft Cleanup Action Plan and Consent Decree complete

Floyd|Snider was the lead common consultant and project coordinator for the WPAH Group and worked collaboratively with Ecology and stakeholders to develop technical approaches for the project and the RI/FS over a period of several years. Floyd|Snider led development and implementation of an RI Work Plan, data interpretation and analyses, negotiation of remedial alternatives, and preparation of the final RI/FS and draft Cleanup Action Plan. The RI/FS was prepared in accordance with the revised Sediment Management Standards and includes the implementation of regional background sediment targets as determined by Ecology for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins/furans, and mercury measured using surface-weighted average concentrations. Based on detailed RI/FS evaluations and public and stakeholder reviews, the cleanup remedy uses permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable, while also achieving cleanup standards within a reasonable time frame, and includes 1,130 acres of monitored natural recovery and enhanced monitored natural recovery (EMNR), 42 acres of engineered capping, and 8 acres of partial or full removal. Sediment cleanup levels are targeted to be achieved throughout the Harbor 10 years after 6 seasons of EMNR and cap construction.

Project Milestones

2020. Final RI/FS approved by Ecology
2025. Public comment for draft Cleanup Action Plan and Consent Decree complete

Project Team

Floyd|Snider
Anchor QEA
Integral Consulting
Exponent
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