Divide and Rule
Divide and Rule
Divide and Rule
Anyone following government affairs knows that phony public process and piecemeal planning are all the rage these days. In keeping with the times, the Port and the Department of Ecology (DOE) have subdivided the G-P upland remediation into a Pulp/Tissue Mill Remedial Action Unit and a Chlor-Alkali Remedial Action Unit. The ostensible reason is to move ahead more quickly with the easier, less-toxic portion slated for more immediate development. It apparently hasn’t occurred to anyone that having a mercury remediation site waiting next door, upwind, might inhibit development and that this undermines the rational for subdividing the area.
In a forum grant funded by DOE at Re-Sources this evening, citizens learned that the preferred alternative is unsurprisingly the lowest cost alternative, leaving most everything in place with maybe two feet of clean soil or maybe some asphalt for a cap. A DOE rep states that eventually buildings will mostly cap the site. They still insist on calling it a clean-up. Maybe that’s why the Port has pushed for their little Hong Kong on the Bay. It certainly explains why they are intent on selling off the waterfront instead keeping it a publicly leased resource. They want to shovel the liability onto private parties, under the guise of an “approved” remediation. It was not clear how seismic liquifaction, a tsunami or rising sea levels were factored into the plan.
The preferred plan is estimated at $5.7 million. Full remediation is estimated at $91 million. Interestingly, the Port’s insurance policy with AIG allocates over $38 million for the “Pulp and Tissue Mill” remediation (p.64).
So why scrimp? Where’s the $38 million dollar plan spelled out in our insurance policy?
Feel like you missed having a say? Don’t feel alone or left out. Write brian.sato@ecy.wa.gov and request a public hearing. They are required to hold one if ten folks ask. Meanwhile, read the docs and see how your representatives are representing your interests - or not.
