February 18, 2003

Environmental Watch: $25-35M Tacoma sediment job to bid soon

TACOMA -- The city of Tacoma will call for bids soon for the Thea Foss and Wheeler-Osgood waterways sediment remediation project.

The estimated cost of the project is between $25 million and $35 million, according to Mary Henley, project manager for the city.

The project is expected to last 30 months and will involve dredging of 525,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments as well as placement of approximately 210,000 tons of capping materials. Disposal options for contaminated sediments include dredging 445,000 cubic yards and construction of a nearshore confined disposal facility or construction of a sediment transloading wharf and upland disposal at a regional landfill.

When the job is posted, information regarding procedures for obtaining plans and specification will be at http://www.cityoftacoma.org/45bids.

Cleanup documents out for DuPont site

DUPONT -- Cleanup documents for the former DuPont Works site, which includes a defunct explosive plant, have been released for review.

These include the remedial investigation, the remedial action plan, the feasibility study, the cleanup action plan and consent decree.

The documents are agreements between the state Department of Ecology, Weyerhaeuser and DuPont Works, which manufactured explosives on part of the site for more than seven decades until the mid-1970s and later sold the 3,200 acres to Weyerhaeuser.

The companies have spent $50 million cleaning up the site and plan to spend another $25 million on the cleanup.

About 180 acres will be a golf course. Areas not set aside as open space will be open to commercial and industrial development, according to the final cleanup plan. Ecology site manager Mike Blum said cleanup and golf course construction are slated for 2006 and development of the rest of the property will follow.

The cleanup plan is to scrape 12 inches of soil from 350 acres and use it to contour about 90 acres of the course. Contaminated soil would be covered with 6 inches of gravel and 12 inches of clean soil. The title to the cleanup site will be deed-restricted to prohibit development of residences, schools, parks or other uses that would attract small children. Weyerhaeuser has developed housing on other parts of the 3,200 acres that were not contaminated.

Much of the work already has been contracted, according to Blum. He said Active Construction of Gig Harbor and Fore Inc. of Maple Valley will be doing the scraping, contouring and capping at the course. HRA is doing archeological work at the site that was occupied as long as 5,600 years ago and later was home to the Hudson's Bay Co.'s Fort Nisqually.

There could be an opportunity for long-term groundwater monitoring, according to Blum, who added truckers may be needed to haul contaminated soil. Waste Management will handle that portion of the work and hire any trucking companies that might be needed, he said.

The public has until April 23 to comment on the cleanup action plan and consent decree.

Panel releases plan for sustainability

OLYMPIA -- A panel on sustainability that Gov. Gary Locke appointed in September 2002 recently released its action plan, calling for the state to create a sustainable development institute.

The panel, led by Constance Rice, executive director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, and Bradley Smith, dean of Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment, said the state must make "significant changes now if we want Washington's quality of life to improve, not diminish, over the next generation."

The panel's top recommendations are: invest in clean energy, commit to greenhouse gas reduction targets, adopt "green" building standards for all state construction projects, establish goals for state government procurement of sustainable goods, align capital spending decisions to encourage sustainable development, begin to shift the tax burden to promote sustainability, educate the public and document progress.

The panel selected 2030 as the benchmark date by which the state "will embrace a new path forward in which our communities and the economy are steadily thriving and nature is no longer in peril."

One company is actually hiring these days

SEATTLE -- The recession has hurt job growth across the economic spectrum, and the environmental consulting industry is no exception. But one Seattle company, Floyd Snider McCarthy, has several openings.

The multi-disciplinary firm is advertising for civil engineers with experience in site/civil, stormwater and NPDES issues, and scientists to assist senior staff on marine and freshwater sediment sites and uplands remediation projects involving groundwater contamination.

"We have been interviewing candidates to assist with projects we are involved with on the Thea Foss Waterway, at the Todd Shipyards, and our other clients," said Lisa Hunrichs Silvey, an FSM project coordinator.

"The qualifications for these various positions are somewhat specific so we are keeping the search broad for now," she added. "We are and prefer to remain a fairly small firm, so the right fit is important."

EDAW, feds honored for wildlife refuge

SEATTLE -- The Washington state chapter of the American Planning Association has honored the Seattle office of EDAW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their partnership on work at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

The Fish and Wildlife Service enlisted the help of EDAW's Summer Student Program. EDAW is a Seattle landscape design and environmental company. Students helped plan interpretive and educational facilities at the refuge.

The refuge, on the Columbia River in Southwest Washington, expects a large influx of visitors due to the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebration. So two years ago, officials turned to EDAW's program.

Students, under the guidance of EDAW staff, conducted a workshop to plan development of refuge visitor facilities.

"The students managed to bridge the gap between the many parties involved, satisfying the local community along with the desires of the Fish and Wildlife Service," said EDAW’s Kevin Butterbaugh.

Kinko's copies other green building purchasers

SEATTLE -- Another business, Kinko’s, is getting on the renewable energy bandwagon.

Kinko's is teaming up with Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and the Snohomish County Public Utility District to convert some of its Puget Sound-area stores to green power.

Twenty-nine stores will purchase from 5 to 25 percent of their power in the form of renewable energy, for an average of more than 626,400 kilowatt hours annually. This offsets carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to driving a car 940,000 miles a year, according to the company.

NW EcoBuilding Guild thinking small

SEATTLE - The Central Puget Sound Chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild is hosting a two-hour discussion at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 about the increase in the average size of U.S. homes and its impacts.

Scheduled to speak are Kristian Kicinski of Velocipede Architects, Jory Phillips of Seattle Department of Design, Construction and Land Use, Ross Chapin of Ross Chapin Architects and Jim Soules of The Cottage Co. LLC. A discussion will follow.

The event is in the basement of the brick building behind the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N. It's free for EcoBuilding Guild members and $5 for others. For information, contact Thor Peterson at (206) 615-0731.