Mercury cleanup plan gets initial OK

BELLINGHAM – The Washington Department of Ecology has given a tentative OK to the Port of Bellingham’s plan for cleaning up mercury in and around Bellingham Bay.

After an initial round of public hearings, the department has issued a draft consent decree. Another round of public comment will take place before the final consent decree.

Work on the $44 million cleanup project could start no sooner than 2009, because more engineering work needs to be done and permits obtained. It could take four years to complete. State environmental cleanup funds are expected to pay about half the cost.

Georgia-Pacific Corp.’s chlorine plant discharged mercury-laden wastewater into the bay, especially between 1965 and 1971. The port agreed to pay for the environmental cleanup in 2005 as part of a deal in which the corporation gave the port its 137 acres of waterfront property.

The cleanup plan calls for removing mercury-tainted sediment from the outer portion of the waterway, to prevent future shipping activity from stirring it up.

Elsewhere, mercury that has already been covered by natural siltation will be covered with more clean material to limit marine life exposure.

The plan also calls for dredging Georgia-Pacific’s old wastewater treatment lagoon to convert it into a marina for about 400 pleasure boats.

Critics of the cleanup plan have said it doesn’t do enough to protect marine life and people from the mercury.

Some have advocated removing as much mercury as possible from both the bay and the lagoon.