The City of Bellingham will commence contamination cleanup for the former RG Haley International Corporation’s wood treatment site and Cornwall Avenue Landfill in the summer of 2025 in conjunction with constructing Salish Landing Park.
According to a staff report from the city’s Public Works department, the total cleanup costs are currently estimated to be $28.3 million.
The Bellingham City Council entered into a grant agreement on Jan. 13 with the Department of Ecology, which will fund 50% of the project.
The staff report also states that cleanup and phase one of the Salish Landing Park construction is expected to take three years to complete.
Salish Landing Park, formerly Cornwall Beach Park, adopted its new name on Jan. 23, 2023, after public comment. The project’s goal is to add additional parks and trails to the waterfront that are accessible to the public.
Stefanie Cilinceon, City of Bellingham’s Public Works communications and outreach coordinator, said in an email that phase one of the Salish Landing Park construction will consist of vehicle and bike parking, beach and trail construction, habitat improvement and other park amenities.
The cleanup site was formerly an industrial zone for lumber, coal and wharf operations. RG Haley was the last to treat wood on the site and used petroleum-based wood preservatives, which were released into the environment until 1985 when it shut down operations.
In 2013, interim actions involved the removal of large rocks and the placement of a sand and clay cap on the site to address an oil sheen.
Cilinceon noted in an email that the source of the oil sheen will be addressed during cleanup.
Kirsten McDade, North Sound waterkeeper at RE Sources, said that contamination from these industries made the Bellingham waterfront almost completely inaccessible to the public.
“When I moved to Bellingham over 20 years ago, it was like the town on the waterfront that you couldn't access the waterfront,” said McDade.
However, McDade said that this cleanup will not only remove contaminants from the environment, but it will also add another shoreline that the public can access.
“With something like RG Haley that's going to be developed into a park, they're going to use the most strict standards,” said McDade.
According to McDade, the site has an expansive eelgrass bed that provides food and shelter for small fish and salmon that maintain the lower levels of the food chain that also support orca whales, as well as maintaining carbon dioxide levels.
“They’ve been referred to as the nurseries of the seas,” McDade said.
Cilinceon said in an email that a sediment cap will extend out into the bay, which will impact existing eelgrass beds but will be mitigated at a one-to-one ratio, where for every area impacted, there will be one restored.
McDade noted that while there has been success in transplanting new eelgrass, it can be a complicated process.
“My hope is that we can help them to come back in so that they would repopulate faster than they would maybe just on their own,” McDade said.
According to Catherine De Almeida, associate professor at the University Of Washington in the Department of Landscape Architecture, restoration sites require long-term maintenance monitoring.
“It kind of depends on where the contaminants are and what kinds of contaminants are there. Let’s say heavy metals versus petroleum-based contaminants,” Professor De Almeida said.
McDade noted that under the Model Toxic Control Act, there is a five-year review where the site is monitored to check for leaking contaminants and erosion, as well as opening another opportunity for the public to engage.
Cilinceon said in an email that later phases will add more park amenities, such as a play area, additional parking and lawn space.
According to McDade, there are varying opinions on how the park should be developed, such as if it should include more amenities or should be a natural park.
“My hope is that the city will engage the community on that and, if it's a compromise, they listen to what the community members hope to see for that park,” said McDade.
DuPree Nugent (he/him) is a City News reporter this winter. He is a second-year student studying news/editorial journalism and creative writing. In his free time he enjoys long-distance running, listening to music, and reading and writing short stories. He can be reached at dupreenugent.thefront@gmail.com
