Remedial Assessment
EPA listed the Commencement Bay-Nearshore/Tideflats (CB/NT) Superfund site in
1983 due to widespread contamination of the water, sediments, and upland areas.
The site encompasses an active commercial seaport and includes 12 square miles
of shallow water, shoreline, and adjacent land, most of which is highly
developed and industrialized. Shipbuilding, oil refining, chemical
manufacturing and storage, and other industrial activities have caused
hazardous waste contamination of the land and sediments in the Commencement Bay
area. Contaminants include PCBs, PAHs, semi-volatile and volatile organic
compounds, dioxins, wood waste, and metals such as zinc, cadmium, copper, lead,
mercury, and arsenic.
The site is divided into a number of separate project areas managed as distinct
sites:
NOAA has worked closely with EPA throughout the remedial process to ensure that
selected remedies are protective of NOAA trust resources. In the initial stages
of the remedial process, NOAA identified receptors at risk and informed sample
plan design to collect data and subsequent data analysis. Once data were
collected and pathways to receptors were identified, NOAA provided technical
expertise with respect to ecological risk assessment, particularly for benthic
invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals. If a site did demonstrate risk to
trust resources, NOAA made recommendations on the remedial design. A
significant portion of the cleanups has been completed. NOAA is also
participating with EPA to design bay-wide monitoring of the cleanup success.
NOAA will continue to review monitoring results and provide input if there are
indications of recontamination.
Injury Assessment
In October 1991, the Trustees formally initiated the damage assessment and
restoration planning process. Since that time, the Trustees have been compiling
existing data, conducting studies of injuries to natural resources resulting
from exposure to hazardous substances, entering into settlement agreements with
willing parties, and planning and carrying out projects to restore injured
resources and habitats.
Injury assessment in Commencement Bay has been ongoing since the 1990s. The
assessment is being performed in three overlapping phases and a preassessment
screen was conducted. Restoration planning is proceeding on a parallel track.
Preassessment Screen. The Trustees determined that a series of hazardous
substances had been released into the Commencement Bay environment, that public
trust natural resources had likely been injured by the releases, that data
sufficient to pursue a natural resource damage assessment were available or
could likely be obtained at a reasonable cost, and that, without further
action, the planned and already-implemented response actions would not
adequately remedy the resource injuries.
Phase 1 was designed to identify and assess existing information concerning
injuries to Commencement Bay resources, provide preliminary guidance for
restoration planning, and provide initial information for determining monetary
damages. The report examined information in the following areas: substances of
concern, natural resources, biological pathways, and potential injuries.
Phase 2. Injury Assessment and Quantification. Based on an analysis of the
results from Phase 1, the Trustees proceeded with independent injury studies
covering four subjects: marine sediments, benthic invertebrates, fish and
birds. Except for the outer-bay sediment survey, the Phase 2 injury studies
focused on the heavily-contaminated Hylebos Waterway. The Trustees are using
the results of the injury studies in conjunction with data from remedial design
investigations, conducted under EPA oversight, in assessing injuries to the
Hylebos and other Waterways.
Phase 3. Valuation and Potentially Responsible Party Identification. The
Trustees have suspended further injury studies while settlement negotiations
are underway. If the Trustees are unable to reach settlements with all
responsible parties and determine they need to complete the assessment process,
Phase 3 will involve damages calculation and completing responsible party
investigations, and taking further action as appropriate.
