Next Round of Port Gamble Bay Cleanup

A major cleanup project restarting this summer will dig up and remove more decades-old contaminated sediments, creosoted pilings and other materials from Port Gamble Bay.

Local residents are invited to an April 26 meeting in Port Gamble to get the latest news from Washington Department of Ecology staff on the project’s second phase of in-water cleanup.

The first phase took place between September 2015 and January 2016.

Removing wood waste, creosote-coated structures and pilings, and contaminated sediments protects and improves the overall health of the bay for shellfish, fish and people.

Ecology staff will give a presentation and answer questions about the upcoming in-water cleanup at the Port Gamble Bay and Mill site. Contractors will start removing pilings in June, and expand cleanup work in mid-July.

Altogether, the in-water work will remove:

• About 6,000 creosote-coated pilings;
• Over-water structures;
• A total of about 70,000 cubic yards of wood waste and contaminated sediments. Wood waste located close to shore will be dredged, and remaining areas contaminated by wood waste will be capped with clean material;
• Thousands of tons of steel, concrete and other debris for recycling.

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