From Mills to Maritime: Restoring Everett’s Working Waterfront 90 Years Later

Caption: The newly redeveloped Norton Terminal, in the top left of the photo, allows the Port of Everett to double their cargo space and revive this dormant piece of their working waterfront.

Photo Credit: Port of Everett

Decades after pulp and paper mill operations first began on the same spot, the Port of Everett’s Norton Terminal – a new 40-acre marine cargo facility – opened in December 2022 to once again make this piece of Everett’s waterfront a working site. As the first all new cargo terminal on the West Coast since 2009, the Port estimates that terminal will restore almost 1,000 jobs – hundreds of which were lost when the original mill shuttered in 2011 – and help support the nearly 40,000 jobs generated by surrounding seaport operations from the Port and U.S. Naval Station Everett. This restoration success story was over a decade in the making after the mill shut down and left subsurface contamination on-site.

Cleaning Up 90 Years of Pulp and Paper Mill Operations

Caption: Though ownership changed hands throughout the years, this was a steady working mill for over eight decades, up until closure in 2012.

Photo Credit: City of Everett library digital collections

The original mill became operational in the 1920s – milling pulp and creating paper products – and continued active operations until it shut down in 2012. Left on the site were heavy metals and petroleum, including releases from fuel bulk storage facilities that pre-dated the mill. Aspect, working on behalf of the owner, Kimberly Clark, led the Washington State Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) upland cleanup process. This involved a years-long remedial investigation to understand the extents of soil and groundwater contamination across 55 acres, a feasibility study to assess cleanup options, and three cleanup actions to expedite the overall cleanup and redevelopment. The main remediation culprits at the site were heavy metals and petroleum, including releases from fuel bulk storage facilities that pre-dated the mill.

300,000 Tons of Material and One Cap Later = Terminal is Open for Business

Caption: Over 300,000 tons of material removed to clear the Site for the environmental cap

Photo Credit: Aspect Consulting

The first two interim cleanups excavated and landfilled more than 56,000 tons of contaminated soils, permanently removing the primary sources of contamination to groundwater. Approximately 250,000 tons of crushed concrete and brick generated during mill demolition were also hauled away, clearing the site and removing a major source of alkaline pH to site groundwater. The finishing step was putting a 9-inch-thick asphalt layer across most of the site, which does double duty as an environmental ‘cap’ and a surface sturdy enough for 40-ton cargo containers to sit on. The environmental cap also includes a state-of-the-science stormwater treatment system to protect the adjacent East Waterway.

Six years after demolition of the former mill infrastructure and considerable cleanup work, Kimberly Clark sold the property to the Port of Everett, supporting the Port’s plans of doubling their marine cargo capacity so West Coast container ships can more quickly get import/export goods to market. Congratulations to the Port for reviving this important piece of the Everett waterfront—restoring both jobs for the regional economy and the site environmental conditions to protect human health and habitat.  

Celebrating the Start of New Affordable Housing Projects Around the Puget Sound

Principal Geologist Dave Cook recently attended multifamily real estate development firm GardnerGlobal’s (GC) kickoff celebration for the next stages of the Skyway Towncenter, a new affordable housing project in Skyway—one of King County’s most diverse and most underserved neighborhoods.

Dave raises a glass with attendees at GardnerGlobal’s celebration.

The Skyway Towncenter, which is still in the planning phase, will include both market-rate and affordable housing, some of which will have rent-to-own options. This option creates an opportunity for residents to have not just more housing stability, but to be able to build wealth and truly invest in their community.

Unlocking Needed Housing Projects in Skyway, Seattle’s Central District, and SeaTac

Aspect is working with CEO and Owner of GG Jaebadiah Gardner and consulting partner Loundyne Hare of Hare International, along with environmental attorney Mike Dunning of Perkins Coie to help GG through due diligence, cleanup planning, and procurement of over $1M in cleanup grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Affordable Housing program. The grant will help fund environmental investigation and a portion of the cleanup of solvents spilled from a dry cleaner that once operated at the site. Senior Geologist Ali Cochrane is leading our environmental team as they investigate contamination. Once building design and construction planning starts, Aspect will lead the cleanup design and geotechnical engineering services.

Public outreach has begun related to early phases of transitioning this contaminated property to new use. On October 20, Ali and Dave spoke alongside Jaebadiah Gardner and Loundyne Hare at the Holy Temple Evangelistic Center in Skyway on environmental conditions and the investigations at the Towncenter site. These meetings and engagement with Ecology will continue so that Skyway residents can learn how the cleanup will result in a new residential community.

Attendees review plans to address contamination at the Skyway Towncenter site during a public outreach meeting on October 28th.

Aspect is also working with GC on the Sarah Queen Development, planned as a seven-story mixed-use building near the corner of 23rd Avenue and Union Street in Seattle’s Central District, where half of the units will be for affordable housing. Our geotechnical engineering team, led by Senior Geotechnical Engineer Eric Schellenger, recently started work on design and construction recommendations for the building foundations.

Also at GC’s kickoff celebration were Hamdi Abdulle and Bilan Aden. This mother and daughter team are the Executive Director and Associate Director, respectively, of African Community Housing & Development, (ACHD) a nonprofit that creates housing stability and economic development opportunities for African Diaspora immigrant and refugee communities in King County. Aspect will conduct environmental and geotechnical due diligence for a site ACHD is looking to acquire for a future residential community in SeaTac.

From left to right, Loundyne Hare, Hamdi Abdulle, Jaebadiah Gardner, and Bilan Aden.

Over 500 Affordable Housing Units Nearing Completion

These projects are starting as Aspect is nearing the end of two major affordable housing projects in south Seattle for Mt. Baker Housing Association (MBHA). Geotechnical special inspections are finished for construction of The Maddux, a two-building development that will add 203 units of affordable housing two blocks from the Mt. Baker Light Rail Station. Our work has included extensive cleanup of contaminants left from a dry cleaners and auto repair shop that once operated on the site and an innovative ground improvement technique to address liquefiable soils that could threaten building stability during an earthquake.

Left: Ground improvements consisting of displacement rigid improvements start at Maddux in Jan. 2021. Right: Maddux nears end of construction in October 2022.

Installation of aggregate piers and auger cast piles has started at Grand Street Commons, just south of the future Judkins Park light rail station near I-90. Construction is underway on three mixed-use buildings with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing and retail. The project is creating 776 new apartments, 360 of which will be affordable units.

A drill rig arrives via crane at Grand Street Commons, October 2022

For more on Aspect’s support for Affordable Housing, visit our Affordable Housing website.

A Legacy of Aging Underground Storage Tanks in Washington

The Seattle Times recently focused on a long-simmering environmental concern unfolding in many states: aging underground storage tanks (USTs) (subscription may be required to preview the news article) on commercial properties. These USTs store gasoline and diesel fuel at gas stations across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It’s not a question of ‘If’ but ‘When’ these tanks will leak.

With nearly 2,500 known UST sites in need of cleanup in Washington, and over 7,500 USTs either beyond or rapidly approaching the end of their useful life, there is likely a UST site in your area. Here’s a map from the Washington State Department of Ecology for finding out what is in your neighborhood.

Where are the Contaminated Properties?

Current status of contaminated sites in Washington State (includes UST sites). This WA Dept. of Ecology interactive map makes it easier to see where known cleanup sites exist.

While leaking USTs can be a threat to the environment, the good news is that they often do not pose an acute health risk to people. Once a site has been properly investigated for environmental and human health risks, there are strategies that will manage the risk and cost of cleanup over time—particularly if the property is going to continue to be used for commercial purposes.

This corner store in Forks, WA recently had an old UST removed, fortunately only a small cleanup effort was needed

For small business owners – for example, the people running “Mom & Pop” gas stations — the cost alone of replacing aging USTs before they leak can be too much of a burden. And that is before the cost of a potential cleanup of any contaminated soil, which can balloon into a big financial liability.

Tools for Managing the Cost of Cleanup

In addition to the costs involved, the regulatory and cleanup process involved in addressing a leaking UST can feel overwhelming.

An environmentally impaired property does not have to be abandoned – there are paths to continuing business operations while successfully navigating the complexities of the cleanup. If you own a UST site, consider these initial steps for managing the cost of cleanup and avoiding a big financial burden all at once:

  1. Complete a remedial investigation (RI) to define the extent of the contamination. If you don’t have insurance and you have questions about what this means for you financially, the Washington State Pollution Liability (PLIA) may be able to help through their revolving loan and grant program.

  2. Evaluate the cleanup standards to see how to keep business going. If you are willing to accept certain restrictions on the property (e.g., no residential use), consider whether less stringent cleanup standards would still meet your business objectives while safely limiting risk to workers and customers.

  3. Assess whether your site is eligible for the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Model Remedy process. This can streamline the cleanup selection process. If the USTs are still in the ground, removal of USTs and contamination to the extent practicable will still be required.

  4. Talk to your environmental consultant about lower-cost options like environmental covenants for the property, engineering controls (like capping), and long-term monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of residual contamination. These strategies can be an effective way to reduce uncertainty around the future cost of managing the long-term environmental liability attached to a property and improve marketability.

Looking Towards Thriving vs. Blighted Properties

While these strategies do not always result in a “100 percent” clean bill of health for a property, they are proven and effective ways to add value back into environmentally impaired sites – both for the local community and the economy. A thriving corner store provides much more benefit to the community than a blighted, unused property where contamination remains in the ground anyway. There are better options for maintaining the productive use of the land while keeping people and the environment safe.

Contact Associate Engineer Eric Marhofer to learn more about UST site remediation and management strategies.

Spotlight on Former Orchard Land Cleanup in Central Washington for New Housing

In Washington state’s agricultural hubs – Wenatchee, Yakima, and Chelan – former orchard land is being redeveloped to meet housing demands. Aspect has worked on several projects that are safely turning these brownfield sites into new housing for residents.  

As the Washington State Department of Ecology recently detailed, former orchard lands have a history of pesticide use, and the type of pesticides used has changed over time. Orchards that were active between 1900 and 1950 generally used lead arsenate, which left residual concentrations of both lead and arsenic in near-surface soil at concentrations above Ecology’s cleanup levels.

Example of former orchard land in East Wenatchee, where new housing now sits.

Snapshot of Former Orchard Land and Cleanup Process

Ecology has classified these former orchards with potential lead arsenate contamination and included them in their publically available ‘Dirt Alert’ program (based on historical aerial photo interpretation and other methods). As shown in the image below, orchard lands are generally concentrated in the Columbia, Yakima, Okanogan, and Wenatchee river basins throughout central Washington.

Using Ecology’s publicly available Dirt Alert mapping, see land (yellow on map) that Ecology delineated as orchard during the lead arsenic era: 1900-1950

Project Spotlight: Cleanup and 20 New Residential Homes near Chelan, WA

Aspect recently supported Chelan County to cleanly ‘cap’ the soil at a former orchard residential redevelopment in Manson near Lake Chelan for 20 new homes so it would protect human health and the environment. Chelan County Natural Resources Department used an Ecology grant to evaluate the costs associated with implementation of a Model Remedy (that is, a clean cap remedy) for this ‘trial implementation’. Aspect supported Chelan County by:

  • Sourcing and analytically testing clean soil cap sources

  • Sourcing and calculating soil amendment (compost) requirements for lawn support

  • Construction sequence and contractor coordination

  • Cost tracking

The trial found that the cost of implementing the clean soil cap model remedy amounted to approximately $5,000 per parcel.

Model Remedies Cleanup for Agricultural Owners and Developers

Model Remedies can guide property owners, developers, and consultants to clean up these lead arsenate properties efficiently and protect the community. Contamination is often limited to just the topsoil layer, thus reducing the complexity of cleanup. There are a few routes to cleanup:

  • Excavation and off-Site disposal is a conventional clean-up method that in most cases is too costly for a residential redevelopment.

  • Capping is a model remedy in which the contaminated soil remains on site and is “capped” with asphalt, building foundations, and delineated landscaping beds and is generally the most cost-effective model remedy.

  • Mixing is a solution where the soil column is mixed until contaminant concentrations throughout the soil layer are all below cleanup levels. A mixing model remedy could be applicable when contamination is limited to a very shallow depth.

Capping is the most commonly used cleanup method in the Model Remedy process. Capping keeps residential communities safe by providing a physical barrier (such as asphalt or colored demarcation fabric beneath the topsoil) between residents and the contaminated soil. Lead arsenate is generally contained within the near-surface soil, so there is no exposure risk related to drinking water or using groundwater. Also, because metals do not vaporize, there is not a threat of vapor intrusion into structures.

Contact Aspect’s Breeyn Greer and Adam Griffin for more information about the cleanup process for orchard redevelopment.

Years in the Making, the Bellingham Waterfront Celebrates Significant Cleanup Milestone

Like many working waterfronts across the country, Bellingham has undergone years of effort to clean up contamination and turn historical industrial sites into useful properties for the community. After more than a decade of study and adjacent cleanups, the former Georgia-Pacific [GP] Paper Mill cleanup site (“GP West site”), the centerpiece of Bellingham’s burgeoning Waterfront District redevelopment, is poised to deal with its biggest contamination culprit – liquid mercury.

The Chlor-Alkali area is one of the trickiest cleanups of the entire Bellingham waterfront, and over a decade in the making. Photo Credit: WA Department of Ecology

The Chlor-Alkali area is one of the trickiest cleanups of the entire Bellingham waterfront, and over a decade in the making.

Photo Credit: WA Department of Ecology

A Plan in Place for one of Bellingham’s Trickiest Sites

There are a dozen cleanup sites within and along the shorelines of Bellingham Bay—by any measure, the 67-acre GP West site is likely the trickiest and most complex upland (adjacent to the shoreline/water) cleanup project of them all. To tackle the cleanup, the site was divided into halves. The half referred to as the Pulp and Tissue Mill Remedial Action Unit (RAU) was successfully remediated in 2016, allowing for the start of the Waterfront District build out including construction of the award-winning Waypoint Park. The other half of the site, known as the Chlor-Alkali Remedial Action Unit (RAU), is where the mercury lies, making it far more challenging to clean up.

Waypoint Park is thriving, with families and businesses returning to the waterfront. The Chlor-Alkali parcel is adjacent to this and will see marine industry expand and flourish when cleanup is complete.

Photo Credit: City of Bellingham

Now, after years of intense investigation and planning work, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Port of Bellingham (Port) have finalized a Cleanup Action Plan for the Chlor-Alkali RAU.

Liquid Mercury is a Subsurface Challenge

The site’s mercury is an unwelcome residual from historical production of chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide (caustic) used to bleach pulp in the former GP mill’s papermaking process. Some of that mercury was released into the ground, as was some of the caustic manufactured in the process.

The mercury ‘culprit’ in the GP West subsurface for this historical paper mill site, where mercury was used in the paper-making process

Remediation crews supervising the excavation of 4,400 tons of contaminated soil removed from the site

Liquid mercury has the unique and unfortunate chemical properties of being both highly volatile and 13 times denser than water. The releases of the caustic in the same area increased the pH of the groundwater, which increased the mercury’s solubility and its ability to migrate in groundwater, allowing it to spread hundreds of feet from where the releases historically occurred. These factors, interspersed into the maze of foundation piles, beams, and other subsurface structures that remain from the former mill, make remediation of the Chlor-Alkali RAU a supremely challenging task. Additional details regarding the site’s contaminants and cleanup are available on Ecology’s webpage

A Milestone for Reviving the Waterfront

The complex Cleanup Action Plan includes a combination of removing some contaminated soil; chemically treating (stabilization/solidification) some soil in place to keep mercury from leaching further; treating groundwater to restore near-neutral conditions that will limit mercury mobility; capping some areas of lower-level contamination; and lots of monitoring throughout to assure the cleanup goals are met.

It will take several years to complete the plan’s tasks and bring the Chlor-Alkali RAU site back into productive use for the Port’s marine trade businesses. But for now, the Port and Ecology’s completion of the Chlor-Alkali Cleanup Action Plan is a momentous milestone to celebrate. It’s a significant piece of the puzzle to complete the recovery of this beautiful part of Bellingham’s waterfront.

For more information contact Principal Hydrogeologist Steve Germiat.

Reaching a Milestone for an Innovative Seattle Affordable Housing Project

The Maddux is a 200+ unit affordable housing project in Seattle that has been years in the making. After almost five years of work -- the environmental cleanup is essentially complete.

This project, in South Seattle’s Mt. Baker neighborhood, sat unused for decades. The culprit? Petroleum releases from an old gas station and solvent leaks from a former dry cleaner that severely affected soil and groundwater beneath the Site. The contamination issues prevented nearly all potential developers from touching these properties – the cleanup cost and environmental liability, which stretched across many properties, were just too much to manage.

Taking on One of the Most Challenging Sites in the City

Yet, Aspect’ s clients, Mt. Baker Housing Association, along with Perkins Coie, Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the City of Seattle saw an opportunity to build a new concept to turn brownfields into cleaned-up affordable housing.

Construction Begun with Move-in Anticipated in 2022

The earthworks, building design and construction team includes: Aspect, Beacon Development Group, Mithun, Coughlin Porter Lundeen and many others.

Some reasons why this project has happened:

  • Affordable Housing need in Seattle is great and this project commits to 200+ units near a walkable light rail station and within a mile of downtown Seattle.

  • Ecology provided “seed money” in support of an innovative idea – why not turn these blighted properties that no one would touch into affordable housing? A win for the environment, a win for the neighborhood, a win for housing, a win for transit and connection to downtown.

  • Ecology took the MBHA/Aspect/Perkins Coie innovative idea and created a new ‘Brownfield’ funding program (the Healthy Housing Program) because of this project to help affordable housing agencies develop prime real estate that has been overlooked.

  • But this isn’t all. The properties could liquefy in an earthquake. So, Aspect and the City of Seattle worked to design and permit a first-of-its-kind ‘earthquake proofing’ foundation system to facilitate economical, and safe, redevelopment of the property.

Construction Begun with Move-in Anticipated for 2022

  • The foundation engineering is ongoing as of Spring 2021.

  • The public will soon see the building “coming out of the ground” with anticipated move-in date in 2022 for families in the area.

Check out this ‘Story Map’ of the past 5 years of work to date:

From Spokane Railyards to Vital Urban Core: Building the University District

In the past decade alone, the Spokane region has grown by 44,000+ people. The 2nd biggest city in Washington state is seeing an influx of residents and affordable housing is key to meet this need. As one piece to support the growth, “The District” is a 300-unit multifamily development planned for construction in 2021 and adds vital housing and connects Spokane communities.

The future ‘District on the River’ project.

The future ‘District on the River’ project.

Cleaning up a Waterfront Railyard Property

The District project — led by Sagamore Spokane LLC, located in Spokane’s University District — adds 300 units adjacent to the Spokane River. Cleanup actions will be completed prior to redevelopment of this former manufactured gas plant property and railyard area.. Aspect and teaming partners from Perkins Coie, DCI Engineers, Witherspoon Kelley,, and ALSC Architects developed a cleanup approach for the contaminated site allowing for building construction.

A Prospective Purchaser Consent Decree was entered by Sagamore Spokane LLC with the Washington State Department of Ecology for the agreed upon cleanup approach. Aspect and Perkins Coie were instrumental in working with Ecology and the Attorney General’s office to facilitate a pathway for Sagamore to invest in this brownfield redevelopment project.

Adding 300 Units to a New and Walkable University District

The cleanup actions are integrated with the development and will allow for the beneficial reuse of this notable vacant property contaminated by historical manufactured gas plant (MGP) operations. Completion of the cleanup actions will improve protection of human health and the environment, allowing this 300-unit, four-building residential apartment complex, known as the ‘District on the River’, to be completed.

With its prime location near the Spokane River, Ben Burr Trail, Hamilton Street bridge and close by amenities, this is anticipated to be a sought-after livable and walkable area.

Meet Marc Chalfant

Aspect recently welcomed Marc Chalfant to our Seattle office. Here are Five Questions we asked to get to know him better.

Marc Chalfant, PE, Project Engineer

Backpacking the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Backpacking the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?

I’m originally from Yellowstone National Park and having lived in a handful of states (and a Canadian province!), I finally find myself firmly planted in Seattle, where I’ve lived for the last 6 years. The mountains and culture brought me here, and after learning how to enjoy the long, dark winters, I’ve grown to appreciate the Pacific Northwest more and more every year.

2. What inspired you to pursue remediation engineering? What made you curious about it?

Growing up in a National Park engrained a sense of environmental responsibility and interest. In college, a hydrogeology course sparked an interest in remediation. The combination of geology, water resources, and chemistry in the context of environmental work got me hooked. My curiosity turned into a career when I accepted a position to research remediation approaches in graduate school at Colorado State University.

3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?

Because remediation engineering is a relatively young field, our collective knowledge and skills are continuously developing. I love being in a field where creativity and nuance provide value on a technical level. It is also a great feeling knowing that at the end of the day we are working to reduce risk to human health and the environment, which is something I am proud of.

4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

Whether on skis, in climbing shoes, or packed for a week-long backpacking trip, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a weekend where I’m not in the mountains in some form, joined by my fiancée, Tamera. I also play ice hockey, enjoy cooking, and have taken to designing and constructing outdoor gear including packs, tents and sleeping bags.

5. Where in the world would you like to travel next?

I’d love to check out more of southeast Asia. We visited Indonesia a couple years ago, and it was hands-down the best trip I’ve ever taken. The food, climate, variety of activities, and natural beauty were unmatched!

PFAS: An Emerging Contaminant for Brownfield Sites

Source: https://www.defence.gov.au/Environment/pfas/PFAS.asp

PFAS may seem like an obscure scientific acronym, but we encounter these chemical compounds—dubbed “forever chemicals”—in our food, water, air, and soil.

PFAS are perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of over 4,000 man-made surfactant compounds manufactured to repel water and oil/grease. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been widely used in commercial and industrial applications, including many consumer products that can be found in every household: Teflon non-stick pans, food packaging, stain-resistant upholstery, and more.

Recent studies point to PFAS as a growing concern for communities and clients, including at water systems and brownfield sites. Aspect has recently worked on sites with PFAs concerns, and we summarize the history, background, and current regulations (both the state and federal scale) around this emerging environmental concern.

A Brief History of PFAS: Why Should We Care?

In 1956, researchers discovered that PFAS compounds bind to human proteins, and by the 1970s PFAS were found to accumulate in human blood. In 2000, the American Chemical Society published a study showing the distribution of people with detectable concentrations of PFAS in their blood was at a global scale. Research groups worldwide, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are increasingly evaluating the toxicity and potential human health risks of PFAS exposure.

Though limited human epidemiological studies have been conducted to date, laboratory animal studies suggest that adverse health effects due to PFAS may include irregular fetal development, cancer, and liver and thyroid damage, among others.

PFAS in the Environment

Source: https://pfasproject.com/2018/10/02/analysis-of-state-by-state-differences-in-pfas-regulation/

PFAS are released into the environment primarily from locations with long-term use of aqueous fire-fighting foams (military sites, airports, and fire-training facilities), industrial facilities that produce metal plating or directly produce PFAS, and landfills that receive municipal or industrial wastes. One of the main exposure pathways for the general public is via PFAS-impacted drinking water.

Of about 6,000 public water systems monitored by the EPA for PFOA and PFOS between 2013 and 2015, approximately 80 public water systems were found to contain the compounds at concentrations above the EPA’s Lifetime Health Advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt). In Washington State, Aspect is incorporating testing for select PFAS compounds into drinking water aquifer monitoring programs at the request of municipalities.

Current State vs. Federal PFAS Regulatory Context

Despite the public and regulator awareness and general acceptance of the risks associated with PFAS exposure, PFAS compounds are not currently identified as hazardous substances in federal regulations to enforce investigation and cleanup standards. In 2019, the EPA released a PFAS Action Plan outlining an approach for their response, which is in progress. The plan suggests that in the relatively near future, we can expect to see at least the two most well-researched compounds, PFOA and PFOS, listed as hazardous substances at the federal level, by Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or other pathways.

In the meantime, 28 states are forging ahead with state-level regulations in lieu of EPA enforceable action and CERCLA status. In Washington, the state legislature recently passed two bills limiting uses of PFAS in food packaging and Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs) in 2018 (Engrossed State House Bills 2658 and 6413). Additionally, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is developing an amendment for Chapter 246-290 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) to address PFAS in drinking water in Washington. This amendment includes state action levels for the EPA’s two target compounds, PFOA and PFOS, as well as three additional compounds (PFHxS, PFNA, and PFBS).

The DOH is proposing a more protective approach than the EPA by setting the draft state action levels for PFOA and PFOS for Group A public water systems at 10 ppt and 15 ppt, respectively—lower values than the EPA’s Lifetime Health Advisory value of 70 ppt. DOH is projecting to finalize the amendment in 2021.

Learn More About PFAS

PFAS Draft Chemical Action Plan (CAP) – October 2020
Long-awaited Washington state plan (a joint publication by the DOH and Ecology) that offers recommendations to reduce PFAS exposure to humans and the environment. The public comment period is currently open until December 7, 2020.

Click here to access the public comment form.

Washington State Department of Health
Resource to learn more about PFAS, and a guide to statewide and nationwide initiatives to address public health concerns related to PFAS.

EPA PFAS Action Plan
National PFAS Action Plan detailing how the EPA is addressing PFAS identification, mitigating exposure, and engaging with affected communities. Refer to the EPA’s homepage for more information.

Safer States
A nationwide coalition of advocates, policymakers, and scientists who collect data on current PFAS policies and guidelines by state, which is then used to make PFAS policy and mitigation recommendations to the federal government.

PFAS-Free Products
A comprehensive list of products and brands from apparel to cookware to furniture that do not contain PFAS.


PFAS Next Steps in the Pacific Northwest

In October 2020, Washington State Departments of Health and Ecology published their PFAS Draft Chemical Action Plan (CAP). The draft CAP has been in development since 2016 and includes recommended actions to reduce human and environmental exposure based on a comprehensive assessment of known and potential sources and occurrences of PFAS in Washington State. The public comment period started on October 7, 2020, and closes on Monday, December 7, 2020. DOH and Ecology are projecting to finalize the CAP in 2021.

Applying State-of-the-Science Insight to PFAS Cleanup and Monitoring

The lack of federal PFAS guidance creates significant challenges for industry and public officials as they assess environmental liability and community impacts. Aspect is working on several projects to help clients problem-solve PFAS challenges, including applying state-of-the-science PFAS data to help municipalities evaluate and monitor wellhead protection programs.

On December 9, 2020, Aspect Senior Geologist Ali Cochrane and Associate Environmental Scientist Kirsi Longley will be presenting on PFAS at the CLE Bootcamp, an annual event for the continuing education of legal professionals, hosted by The Seminar Group. If you are interested in arranging a PFAS presentation for your team/organization or want to learn more about how Aspect can provide PFAS support, please reach out to Ali Cochrane and Kirsi Longley.

Zap! Pow! Remediators Unite: Environmental Science in a Comic Book

Aspect feels lucky to have a strong connection with Western Washington’s Huxley College of the Environment in Bellingham. Associate Scientist Kirsi Longley (Huxley College alumnus; featured on page 38 of the below comic!) and Principal Hydrogeologist Steve Germiat have guest lectured there over the years, talking the ins and outs of environmental remediation along with the day-to-day realities of being an environmental consultant. In fact, Steve Germiat presented to the class in March 2020, just a day before they stopped meeting on campus due to COVID-19 risks.

We wanted to turn the spotlight on this innovative and creative group taught by Professor Ruth Sofield. In just one example of creative communication, the students in the Science, Management, and Communication of Contaminated Sites (SMOCS) have taken their learning of environmental remediation and powered it into comic form. The comic is an innovative form of public outreach – and communicates the complexity of environmental cleanup to reach all audiences.

Given the recent COVID-19 public health recommendations, the class is now meeting exclusively online thus highlighting, even more, the importance of unique science storytelling that can reach many audiences even when not physically in the same location.

See the latest example of The Remediators here: https://issuu.com/ruth.sofield/docs/volumefive

From Historic Sawmill Dump Site to Seattle Workforce Housing

The historic Pioneer Square district—the front porch to Seattle’s downtown waterfront—is the City’s first neighborhood. The area is shaped by its proximity to the waterfront, active seismology, and over 150 years of urban development, infill, and industry– including housing one of Seattle’s first true startups, the Yesler Lumber Mill.

Built in the early 1850s, the Yesler sawmill was a steam-powered sawmill on the shores of the growing downtown Seattle.
Photo Credit: www.historylink.org

These confluence of factors also trigger specific criteria for building in the neighborhood today – taking historical preservation compliance, seismic codes, and a tricky subsurface into account.

In the heart of the neighborhood, at 165 South Washington Street, Aspect is helping Johnson & Carr, LLC guide the development of an eight-story workforce housing project. The site – currently a vacant pit – formerly housed an apartment building bearing directly on weak urban fill and sawdust. That building was damaged in two separate earthquakes – the 1949 (Olympia) earthquake and 2001 (Nisqually) earthquake, leading to it being condemned and demolished.

The project site, currently a vacant pit that’s sat unused for years, awaits design and construction of a new 8-story workforce housing building.

The Complexity of Seattle’s Original Sawmill Dumpsite

This project site is directly influenced by the past in several ways. It was originally a tidal marsh, used over a century ago, among other things, as a dumping ground for sawdust from the Yesler Mill. This means current project design must grapple with up to 25 feet of sawdust fill in the subsurface. As white settlers filled the surrounding waterfront during the Klondike Gold Rush era, the former tidelands were swallowed up by all manner of new buildings and roads in the haste to infill the neighborhood (as seen on the figure below).In addition, several seismic sources contribute to the seismic risk at the site, including the Seattle Fault Zone which is less than 2 miles away, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which can trigger a magnitude 9 earthquake. The seismology, historical uses of the project area, and decades and decades of man-made development have only added to the complexity of building here.

The project site was the dumping ground for sawdust from the nearby Yesler mill. The map on the right shows how much the downtown Seattle shoreline has changed in the last 150 years.

Next Steps: Geotechnical, Seismic, and Engineering Problem Solving

To set the stage for building design and construction in this complicated subsurface, Aspect is conducting several geotechnical and environmental evaluations to develop design recommendations to solve the challenges posed by the historical fill and sawdust at the site. Our detailed evaluations include:

  • Conducting a site-specific seismic response analysis which includes determining dynamic properties of the sawdust to model its behavior under seismic loads

  • Conducting deep foundation design to transfer building loads to underlying competent soils

  • Evaluating and mitigating risk associated with environmental issues which are ubiquitous with the historic fill throughout the Pioneer Square area.

The Vision: Realizing More Affordable Workforce Housing for the Community

These evaluations will be critical to shepherd the development through the City of Seattle’s permitting process and help create more workforce housing in the area. Workforce housing aims to provide a more affordable rental option within high real estate cost areas for workers essential to the local economy, such as service workers, police officers, fire fighters, teachers, nurses, and medical personnel.

When completed, Pioneer Square will gain a new eight-story building with street-level commercial space below seven stories of residential workforce housing.

Dave Cook Discusses Consent Decrees, Cleanup and Ecology’s Healthy Housing Program for Contaminated Sites at the WA Brownfields Conference on May 30, 2019

On May 30, Aspect’s Dave Cook will co-present on affordable housing development from the environmental consulting perspective at the Washington State Brownfields Conference in Spokane.

Brownfield properties represent opportunity. Dave will talk about innovative ways to turn blighted property into affordable/work force housing. Aspect’s first-of-its-kind work on the Mt Baker Housing Association’s Gateway project in the Mt Baker/Rainier Valley neighborhood in Seattle has become an example of what is possible. Mt Baker Housing Association (MBHA), as a non-profit, took on a significantly contaminated site to redevelop as affordable housing where the cost of the cleanup is more than the value of the five properties combined. Dave will join Scott O’Dowd of Ecology, Conor Hansen of MBHA and Mike Dunning of Perkins Coie to describe how these properties were purchased, investigated, liability managed, and the cleanup financed—all keys that made this pioneering project successful and sparking the State’s new Healthy Housing program .

Contact Dave (206.838.5837 and dcook@aspectconsulting.com), or learn more about prospective purchaser consent decrees, funding, and redeveloping contaminated land for affordable housing at https://www.aspectconsulting.com/affordablehousing


Helping Power Seattle's Tech Sector

Seattle City Light is about to unveil its new state-of-the-art substation that will transition this South Lake Union site from a Greyhound bus maintenance facility and parking lot into an “architectural marvel.” From property acquisition and contaminant remediation through design and construction, Aspect completed a full range of environmental and geotechnical services to support the redevelopment of a sleek electrical substation wedged in the heart of Seattle’s tech sector.

Check out this great Seattle Times article on the new substation and peruse some photos of the truly impressive facility.

Washington State Helps Turn Brownfields into Affordable Housing

See Washington State Department of Ecology’s new article covering the state’s new Healthy Housing Remediation Program for restoring contaminated land to promote affordable housing. Mt. Baker Housing’s 160-unit project in South Seattle — which Aspect is leading the cleanup for — was the inspiration for this program.

Read more here.

Learn more here: https://www.aspectconsulting.com/affordablehousing

Washington's Healthy Housing Program Helps Fund Cleanup for Affordable Housing

Today, the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) published a great overview of the new Washington State Healthy Housing Program and the inspiration for the program - Mt. Baker Housing's $55 million Maddux project. Check it out.

Does your firm want help turning brownfields into affordable units?

Ecology wants to offer grants to get brownfields cleaned up and reused, and is seeking applications from developers until Saturday.

By BENJAMIN MINNICK
Journal Construction Editor

There are thousands of blighted properties across the state that could be redeveloped to create more affordable housing, but contamination on these sites has mostly kept developers at bay.

Now the state and its consultants are testing a way to get more of these sites developed. The Healthy Housing Remediation Program provides grants to help affordable housing developers build on brownfields.

The departments of Ecology and Commerce created the program. To gauge interest, they are seeking applications from developers until Saturday. The list of firms that respond will be used to develop Ecology's 2019–21 cleanup budget plan and to demonstrate funding needs for the Legislature to consider during the 2019 session.

Dave Cook of Aspect Consulting, one of the consulting firms, said affordable housing developers face high property costs, water rights issues and Growth Management Act restraints. He said this program will help fund remedial investigation studies and site cleanup to make blighted properties more attractive to developers.

The program was inspired by Mt. Baker Housing's $55 million Maddux project, which is slated for a site on South McClellan Street, east of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and near the Mount Baker light rail station.

Maddux will have two buildings with 144 apartments that are affordable to people earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. Nearly half of the units will be “family-size,” with two- and three-bedroom layouts.

Mt. Baker Housing will use $6.2 million in state funds to clean up contamination from a gas station and dry cleaner. The nonprofit signed an agreement last year with Ecology that lays out the cleanup plan, and Ecology provided $400,000 for initial studies.

“We've been in the Mount Baker neighborhood a long time and these five properties always intrigued us — but we knew conventional options to develop the site were limited,” said Conor Hansen, director of real estate at Mt. Baker Housing, in a news release. “Once we learned about the opportunity to work with the Department of Ecology and play a part in creating a new innovative model, we believed this site would be the perfect candidate to clean up, develop and activate a prominent intersection that will serve as a catalyst for the neighborhood and provide much-needed affordable housing near light rail.”

In early 2017, the city designated the five properties as a Redevelopment Opportunity Zone, which allows state funds to flow directly to Mt. Baker Housing for remediation.

The parcels total about a half-acre.

Mt. Baker Housing aims to select a general contractor shortly, and break ground in late 2019 and open in early 2021. Other team members are architect Mithun, development consultant Beacon Development Group and acquisition lender Impact Capital.

Cook said it will be two months before all the data is available about the site contamination, but it's “very contaminated.”

Aspect and law firm Perkins Coie led the environmental team for Mt. Baker Housing, and worked with Ecology on the pilot program.

Cook said Aspect and Perkins Coie can help interested developers with the pilot program's application process.

 

Setting the Stage for Alaska Airlines’ 128,000-Square-Foot Groundbreaking

Alaska Airlines recently deepened its local roots with a groundbreaking for a new 128,000-square-foot corporate facility in SeaTac.

Aspect is helping set the stage for this by providing environmental and geotechnical services to prep the property for development.  Our team evaluated property-wide environmental conditions and is serving as the geotechnical engineer of record, which includes designing foundations and shoring walls.  Aspect pilot tested and designed a deep stormwater infiltration system to sustainably manage stormwater and get it back into the ground in a more native/natural way. This helped achieve the sustainability goals of the project. We will be on hand to perform construction observation as that kicks off. 

The “Hub” will be a 6-story office building scheduled for construction and then move-in for first quarter 2020.

The May 3rd groundbreaking ceremony was attended by various city, county and state dignitaries, including governor Jay Inslee, Congressman Adam Smith, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden, as well as Alaska employees and members from the surrounding community.

An Alternative Approach for Petroleum-Site Cleanups

With around 3,000 historical leaking underground petroleum storage tanks (USTs) and systems across Washington state, petroleum cleanup is a big issue for business owners, homeowners, and regulators. The traditional leaking UST cleanup process is typically counted in years and often stymied by the lack of available regulatory staff to handle the large volume of sites efficiently. 

To help remedy this, the state’s Pollution Liability Agency (PLIA) created a new cleanup route--the Petroleum Technical Assistance Program (PTAP)--beginning in January 2018. The PTAP program offers applicants the potential of lower cost associated with regulatory oversight and a commitment to faster turnaround times for opinions on their UST sites. Thanks to a 2017 change in state law, PLIA now has the statutory authority to provide technical oversight and write opinions--something only Ecology previously had--on UST sites, thus giving site owners and operators a new alternative to the state’s traditional Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) process.

With over a decade of petroleum site cleanup experience, Aspect’s Senior Engineer Eric Marhofer gives a primer on the potential PTAP has for UST owners.

What does the new PTAP Program Mean for Site Owners? 

The nuance of PLIA’s approach is to work more collaboratively with site owners--for example, they plan to hold an intake meeting at the outset upon enrollment to review the site status with the applicant and set achievable milestones. PLIA is looking to provide more certainty upfront, and quicker, more pragmatic opinions and responses throughout the process. The goal is to efficiently move sites toward a “No Further Action” determination and, ultimately, allow the owner to return their site to a business asset instead of a liability. 

Additionally, the PTAP may work more seamlessly for site owners already working in cooperation with PLIA through their Commercial Reinsurance and/or Loan and Grant programs.

There’s a number of PLIA financing and insurance options available to help UST owners and operators move their sites towards closure.

What’s the Process?

PLIA is looking to offer a streamlined application and approval process, a one-time flat fee of $7,500 for service (vs. hourly billing for review and opinions in the VCP), an intake meeting with senior technical staff to review your Site (which does not typically happen in the VCP), and faster turn-around times for written opinions (a goal of 45 days versus 90+ days with Ecology).  

PTAP’s Program begins accepting applications January 2, 2018.

Are there any risks?

Depending on how much regulatory oversight is anticipated, a flat-fee of $7,500 may not make sense for some sites. However, for more complex sites that may need multiple opinions over the life of the investigation and cleanup, that fee will likely represent a good value. 
There are also certain factors site owners will want to consider when determining whether their site qualifies for PTAP. For example, there can be no impacts to sediment or surface water and there can be no co-mingled, non-petroleum contamination. Additionally, sites facing litigation may not qualify. If the site is disqualified for one or more reasons after enrollment in PTAP, it is unclear whether the enrollment fee is refundable.

PTAP eligibility criteria.

PLIA also expects actionable steps to be taken on the part of the applicant/owners to move forward with investigations and cleanups once accepted to the program.  In other words, PLIA will not be a safe harbor for Sites to enroll to avoid Ecology enforcement but not take any actions to investigate or clean up their site.  Sites may be disqualified from the program for inactivity and the enrollment fee may not be refundable.  

Learn more here: http://plia.wa.gov/ptap/ or contact Eric at emarhofer@aspectconsulting.com.
 

It’s a Wrap on the Cap: Port of Bellingham completes major cleanup milestone to redevelop Bellingham’s Waterfront District

A video history of the past, present, and future of the transformative Bellingham waterfront redevelopment.

Along the east side of the Whatcom Waterway in Bellingham, a layer of gray gravel stretches over the landscape. This “cap” of crushed rock and surrounding paved surfaces is a culmination of years of efforts to clean up soil and groundwater on the grounds of a former pulp and paper mill. Completion of the capping clears one major hurdle for the Port and City of Bellingham to create a new, vibrant waterfront.

Video Credit: Port of Bellingham

A historically industrial site with strong post-cleanup potential

The waterfront has always been central to Bellingham’s industrial past. Where the cap sits now was originally tideflats that were filled to create new upland for industrial use: salmon canning operations in the early 1900s, giving way to a pulp mill in the 1920s. In 2005, Georgia-Pacific (GP) sold 137 acres of land, including the 64-acre mill property, to the Port of Bellingham, and GP’s last mill operations closed in 2007. Despite the contamination that resulted from the industrial activities, the Port and the City did not give up on this property and saw the cornerstone of a new Bellingham waterfront—it only needed remediation to set the stage for productive and safe reuse.

How to Clean It Up

Heavy industrial use left some contamination in soil and groundwater across the majority of the mill property, which, for purposes of the environmental cleanup, is termed the GP West site. In 2009, the Port and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) executed an Agreed Order to investigate and determine the appropriate “cleanup action” for the site. First, Aspect completed a Remedial Investigation to document the soil and groundwater across the entire site. While the investigation was underway, the Port and Ecology agreed to proactively undertake interim cleanup actions to permanently remove areas of high-risk soil contamination (Bunker C fuel oil and liquid mercury) while working to create the cleanup plan for the larger site.

In 2013, the Agreed Order was amended to divide the GP West site into a pair of Remedial Action Units (RAUs): the Chlor-Alkali RAU that encompasses mercury contamination from a former mercury-cell Chlorine Plant on the south end of the site; and the Pulp and Tissue Mill RAU that encompasses the former pulp mill and tissue mill areas to the north. Ecology agreed to do this to expedite cleanup and facilitate redevelopment, recognizing that cleanup of the Pulp and Tissue Mill RAU was less complicated and could be accomplished more quickly than could the Chlor-Alkali RAU. In 2014, a Cleanup Action Plan (CAP) specified the final cleanup action for the Pulp and Tissue Mill RAU. The final cleanup for that RAU involves additional removal of contaminated soil, and, in a few areas, monitoring the natural restoration of groundwater.

What it takes to put a Cap on 31 Acres

A major challenge for the capping project was achieving a protective barrier across 31 acres of highly variable surface conditions remaining after demolition of the former mill, while also maintaining accessibility and stormwater drainage until redevelopment reconstructs the area. The surface that required capping was a mish-mash of material types and grades: pavements of variable type and condition, intact concrete slabs of all dimensions and heights, crushed concrete and brick, and a hill of soil that historically served as a street onramp. Further complicating the effort was a widespread surficial layer of dirt and rocks presumed to have contamination from historical activities, termed “veneer.”

Aspect was involved throughout the capping project, from conceptual design to the construction plans and specs and bid process, and then overseeing work to ensure it was done to the CAP specifications. The capping itself took about 90 days, as outlined in these photographs:

Before – Pre-existing site surfaces requiring capping

Random intact slab with "veneer" around it.

Crushed concrete from mill demolition.  Also note that the Port saved some buildings and structures, like the “acid ball” and the “pulp digester” towers shown here, to contribute to the aesthetics of the planned redevelopment.

The hill of soil that historically served as a street onramp.

During – Regrading and consolidating contaminated material 

The initial steps of the capping project included grading off the tops of the soil knolls to match surrounding grades, as well as removing the “veneer.” The latter was done with excavators, street sweepers, and even a good old-fashioned broom in some areas. All of the excavated and swept-up contaminated materials were consolidated as fill to raise grade in a low area just south of the knolls.

During – Smoothing it out

Next, the site needed to be evened out. The contaminated soil fill was graded and compacted to a flat surface. Because it was to be capped with clean imported soil, a bright orange geotextile was placed across the contaminated soil subgrade to provide visual notification for potential future excavation through the cap during redevelopment. Adjacent stockpiles of crushed concrete and brick from prior building demolition were likewise leveled and compacted – creating a firm, flat subgrade across the entire fill area.

During – Capping it off

Once the fill was consolidated and evened out, the entire 31 acres needed to be capped. The cleanup plan called for a minimum of either 3 inches of competent hard surface (asphalt or concrete pavements or foundations), or 2 feet of clean import soil/rock, overlying the contaminated soil. Ultimately, contaminated soil was capped with 2 feet of import material (6 inches of crushed rock over 18 inches of sand and gravel) on top of the orange geotextile, while the cap across the rest of the area was a combination of pre-existing competent hard surfaces and new asphalt pavements. The capping also cleaned out and secured more than 170 vaults and other subsurface structures to eliminate physical hazards to foot and vehicle traffic and to control stormwater drainage.

Done – The finished product

The finished cap will keep people from coming into direct contact with potentially contaminated soil. The project also improved stormwater drainage, and provided an overall upgrade to the site’s aesthetic. Aspect will also continue to monitor the groundwater on the site as the Port and City plan their next steps.

What’s Next: Reconnecting the Community to the Waterfront

Just as the waterfront has been central to Bellingham’s past, it is now the key to its future. With the cap in place, the potential of this prime waterfront area is just now being unlocked. The old Granary building at the corner of the cleanup site is undergoing renovations to house shops and restaurants. The City is planning for construction later this year of the first arterials and utilities, as well as a park that will allow the community to directly access the waterfront. And rather than forget the past use of the area, the City has embraced it with a public competition to reimagine the site’s “acid ball” as an art installation within the new park.

Join Aspect at the NEBC 2016 Northwest Remediation Conference

Aspect is once again a proud sponsor and participant in this year’s Northwest Remediation Conference held October 4th in Seattle, WA. For session 2A, “Implementing Combined Remedies,” Senior Remediation Engineer, Adam Griffin, will discuss how, why, and with what results remediation technologies have been deployed at complex sites.  Later in the day, join Carla Brock, Aspect’s Associate Geologist, as she moderates a panel of remediation professionals and regulators on the challenges they face when mitigating surface water contamination.

The conference is presented by the Northwest Environmental Business Council, “a regional trade association representing leading service and technology firms who are working to protect, restore, and sustain the natural and built environment.”

Learn more about the conference HERE.