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Duwamish Water Way Site Proposed for Superfund Listing
Release Date: 12/1/2000
Contact Information: Lori Cohen
[email protected]
(206) 553-6523
December 1, 2000 - - - - - - - - - 00-067
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting comments on its proposal to add the Lower Duwamish Waterway Site to the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL or “Superfund” is EPA’s list of the nation’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites that are targeted for cleanup.
According to Mike Gearheard, Director of EPA’s Superfund cleanup office in Seattle, listing the site on the NPL is now the best approach for investigating and cleaning up the contamination at the site.
“In October, Washington Governor Gary Locke concurred with EPA’s decision on the proposal,” said Gearheard. “EPA is committed to working with the Department of Ecology to begin investigation and cleanup work on the Duwamish without delay.”
The contamination at the Lower Duwamish Waterway Site meets the criteria EPA uses to propose sites to the Superfund list. A recent EPA study confirmed that contaminated sediments are present in a five-mile stretch of the Lower Duwamish Waterway, from the southern tip of Harbor Island to just south of the turning basin near the Norfolk combined sewer overflow. The contaminants, which include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury and other metals, and phthalates, may pose risks to people, fish and other wildlife.
Proposal Now Open to Public Comment
The Lower Duwamish Waterway proposal was published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2000. EPA now invites the public to comment on the proposal during a sixty-day comment period. After the comment period closes, EPA will consider all comments received before listing the site as final on the NPL. Comments must be postmarked by January 30 , 2001. Send an original and three copies of your comments in one of the ways below.
By postal mail:
Docket Coordinator, Headquarters
U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office, 5201G
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
or
By express mail or courier:
Docket Coordinator, Headquarters
U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office
1235 Jefferson Davis Highway
Crystal Gateway #1, 1st floor
Arlington, Virginia 22202
Docket Coordinator, Headquarters
U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office, 5201G
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
or
By express mail or courier:
Docket Coordinator, Headquarters
U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office
1235 Jefferson Davis Highway
Crystal Gateway #1, 1st floor
Arlington, Virginia 22202
Comments may also be e-mailed, in ASCII format only, to [email protected]
E-mailed comments must be followed by an original and three copies by mail or express mail.
E-mailed comments must be followed by an original and three copies by mail or express mail.
For more information on the proposal: http:/www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl.htm
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