Today at the Port of Port Angeles commission meeting, the Board of Commissioners unanimously authorized the Executive Director to enter into a $3,575,014 contract with Engineering Remediation Resources Group, Inc. (ERRG) of Redmond, Washington for the KPly remediation project.
The project went out to bid June 12, 2015 and the bid opening was July 8th. Six general contractors submitted bids and ERRG was the lowest responsive bidder.
ERRG will be tasked with cleaning up the existing contamination at the former KPly Mill Site in accordance with Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA) cleanup standards for industrial sites. The majority of the cleanup will be accomplished by excavating the contaminated soil and hauling it to a registered offsite landfill. Clean fill material will then be hauled back to the site. ERRG will begin work in early August and is expected to have the project substantially complete by mid November 2015. The site will be monitored for 10 years following the completion of the cleanup to ensure the site does not pose a risk to human health and that the harbor isn’t impacted from residual groundwater contamination.
The KPly cleanup project was budgeted for in the Port’s 2015 Budget and the Port has recently been awarded $1.5 million dollars in MTCA remedial action grant funds for this project.
Commissioner John Calhoun stated, “The authorization of $3,575,014 is the single largest authorization in my 11.5 years as a commissioner. This project is a big deal and the Port stands behind it. This project is everything we should be doing as a port.”
Commissioner McAleer noted that Brownfield* cleanup projects typically have a timeline of roughly 19 years and the KPly cleanup project has only taken 3 years.
The PenPly mill operation ceased in December of 2011 and the structures were later demolished between the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013. Since that time the Port has been working toward the end goal of cleaning up the KPly site contamination in accordance with Department of Ecology’s specified cleanup standards.
*The term "brownfield site" means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. (Environmental Protection Agency, epa.gov)