Site Name: WYCKOFF CO./EAGLE HARBOR

EPA ID: WAD009248295 EPA Region: 10 Metro Statistical Area: 7600

5350 CREOSOTE PL NE. BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA 98110

Operable Unit: 03

ROD ID: EPA/ROD/R10-92/047 ROD Date: 09/29/92

Contaminant: Organics, Metals

Keys: Arsenic; Capping; Carbon Adsorption (GAC); Carcinogenic Compound; Chromium; Clean Water Act; Direct Contact; Dredging; Excavation; Ground Water Monitoring; Institutional Controls; Lead; Metals; O&M; Offsite Disposal; Onsite Containment; Onsite Discharge; Onsite Disposal; Onsite Treatment; Organics; PAHs; RCRA; Sediment; Solidification/Stabilization; State Standards/Regulations; Temporary Storage; Treatability Studies; Treatment Technology; Water Quality Criteria; Wetlands.

Abstract:

SITE HISTORY/DESCRIPTION: The 3,780-acre Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor site is located on the east side of Bainbridge Island, in Central Puget Sound, Kitsap County, Washington. The site consists of an inactive 40-acre wood treating facility owned by Wyckoff, the adjacent 500-acre Eagle Harbor and other upland sources of contamination to the Harbor, including a former shipyard. Land use in the area is predominantly residential, with some commercial and industrial uses. The harbor supports several fish resources, a wide variety of resident and migratory birds, and other wildlife. The shipyard operated from 1903 to 1959 on the northwest shore of Eagle Harbor, resulting in releases of metals and organic contaminants. From 1905 to 1988, wood treating operations were conducted on the southeast shore involving pressure treatment with creosote and pentachlorophenol. Preservative chemicals, which were delivered to the facility by barge and ship, were stored in tanks on the property. Contamination of soil and ground water at the wood treatment facility led to seepage into adjacent sediments. Wastewater was discharged into Eagle Harbor for many years, and the practice of storing treated pilings and timber in the water continued until the late 1940's. In 1984, NOAA investigations of the Harbor revealed that sediment, fish, and shellfish from Eagle Harbor contained elevated levels of PAHs. Later in 1984, EPA required the Wyckoff Company to conduct environmental investigation activities under RCRA, and the state required immediate action to control stormwater runoff and seepage of contaminants. In 1991, EPA defined three operable units at the Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor site: East Harbor (OU1), Wyckoff (OU2), and West Harbor (OU3). This ROD addresses subtidal/intertidal sediment and upland sources of contamination in the West Harbor (OU3), where significant sources from former shipyard activities are believed to have been controlled. Future RODs will address PAH-contaminated sub-tidal sediment in the OU1 and OU2, the contaminated East Harbor (OU1), and contaminated ground water, soil and intertidal sediment at the adjacent facility (OU2). The primary contaminants of concern affecting the subtidal/intertidal sediment and upland sources are organics, including PAHs; and metals, including arsenic, chromium, and lead.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS OR GOALS: Sediment clean-up goals are based on the State of Washington Sediment Management Standards (Sediment Standards), which provide chemical criteria for both a minimum clean-up level (MCUL) and the more stringent sediment quality standards (SQS). Chemical-specific goals for defining cleanup areas include anthracene 1,200 mg/kg; chrysene 460 mg/kg; naphthalene 170 mg/kg; pyrene 1,400 mg/kg; and mercury 0.58 mg/kg (MCUL) the long-term goal for the harbor is the SQS.

INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS: Institutional controls will be implemented to prevent exposure to contaminated fish and shellfish.

Remedy:

SELECTED REMEDIAL ACTION: The selected remedial action for this site includes dredging, dewatering, excavating approximately 1,000 to 7,000 cubic yards of intertidal sediment that exceeds levels of 5 mg/kg mercury and/or lower moderate PAH concentrations, followed by treatment using solidification/stabilization, as necessary, to comply with LDR as determined by bench scale tests; transporting sediment, which cannot be treated to meet LDR offsite for disposal at a RCRA permitted landfill; treating wastewater from the dewatering process onsite using carbon adsorption before discharge into the harbor; capping the sediment in areas of high concern with a 1- meter thick layer of clean sediment; placing a thin layer of clean sediment in subtidal areas of low to moderate concern to enhance natural sediment recovery; conducting long-term environmental monitoring; and implementing institutional controls to prevent exposure to contaminated fish and shellfish. The estimated present worth cost for this remedial action ranges from $6,200,000 to $16,000,000, which includes a present worth O&M cost of $1,100,000 for 10 years.

Operable Unit:

ROD ID: EPA/ROD/R10-94/079 ROD Date: 09/29/94

Contaminant: polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver, zinc

Keys: wood-treating facility, contaminated sediments, RCRA, facility, pilings, groundwater extraction

Abstract:

Please note that the text in this document summarizes the Record of Decision for the purposes of facilitating searching and retrieving key text on the ROD. It is not the officially approved abstract drafted by the EPA Regional offices. Once EPA Headquarters receives the official abstract, this text will be replaced.

The Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor site is located on the east side of Bainbridge Island, in Central Puget Sound, Washington. The site includes an inactive 40-ac and other upland sources of contamination to the harbor, including a former shipyard. The site is currently divided into four operable units.

Sediments in areas of Eagle Harbor are contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other organic compounds, as well as with metals, primarily mercury. EPA's Remedial Investigation (RI) of sediment contamination in Eagle Harbor initially addressed the harbor as a single unit concurrent with enforcement activities at the Wyckoff Facility. After completion of the Eagle Harbor Feasibility Study (FS), EPA proposed the administrative separation of the Harbor into East and West Harbor operable units.

Groundwater and soils at the wood-treating facility (the Wyckoff Facility operable unit) are contaminated with chemicals from the wood treatment process, primarily creosote-derived PAHs and pentachlrophenol. A groundwater and oil extraction system and treatment plant have been in operation at the facility since 1990 as part of an Expedited Response Action (ERA) aimed at controlling releases of contamination to the harbor. Although wood-treating operations at the Wyckoff Facility ceased in 1988, contamination from the

Wyckoff Facility continues to affect areas of the East Harbor through groundwater movement and oily seeps. In 1993, under CERCLA removal authorities, EPA implemented the initial sediment cleanup proposed for the East Harbor, placing a sediment cap in a heavily contaminated subtidal area. The cap, relatively distant from ongoing intertidal seeps, addressed areas where sediment contamination was shown to cause significant adverse biological effects in biological tests, including areas of free-phase oily contamination.

EPA recently divided the Wyckoff Facility into separate operable units for soil and groundwater and has proposed an interim decision to support source control efforts. These efforts are expected to control seepage of oily contamination and groundwater to the East Harbor. Final remedies for soils and groundwater will be selected following completion of the ongoing Wyckoff Facility RI/FS.

More than 15,000 people live on Bainbridge Island. Land use on Bainbridge Island, recently incorporated as the City of Bainbridge Island, is principally residential, with some commercial and industrial use. An urban area, formerly the City of Winslow, lies on the north shore of the Harbor. Residences, commercial centers, a city park, several marinas, a yacht repair yard, a bulkhead enterprise, and a ferry terminal characterize the northern shoreline. The western and southern shores are primarily lined with residence, farms, marinas, and a boatyard.

The early days of the shipyard emphasized wooden ship-building. After flourishing during World War I, the yard slumped during the 1930s. In the 1940s and 50s, the emphasis was on construction and repair of military ships, conversion of ships to wartime use, and postwar decommissioning under contracts with the Navy, Army, Coast Guard and other military entities. Repair contracts dwindled into the late 1950s, and in 1961 the property was sold and subsequently divided.

Wood treating operations at the Wyckoff Facility began in 1905 and continued until 1988 through several changes of ownership. Pressure treatment with creosote was the primary method of wood preservation, although pentachlorophenol also came into use. Preservative chemicals were delivered to the facility by barge and ship and stored in tanks on the property. Spills, leaks, and drippage entered the ground directly or through unlined sumps. Wastewater was discharged into Eagle Harbor for many years, and the practice of storing treated pilings and timber in the water continued until the late 1940s.

During the 1970s, efforts were made to address oil seepage on beaches adjacent to the Wyckoff Facility through inspections and recommendations. In March 1984, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) advised EPA and the Washington Department of Ecology that samples sediments, fish, shellfish from Eagle Harbor contained elevated levels of PAHs in both sediments and biota.

In August of 1984, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) requiring the Wyckoff Company to conduct environmental legislation activities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Data collected at the time revealed the presence of significant soil and groundwater contamination.

The Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor site was proposed to the NPL in September 1985. Under the Washington State Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program, Ecology completed a Preliminary Investigation of sediment contamination in Eagle Harbor. In 1985, NOAA completed a study relating the presence of PAHs in sediment to the high rate of liver lesions in English Sole from Eagle Harbor. In March 1987, the Wyckoff Company entered into an Administrative Order on Consent with EPA for further investigation of the facility.

Remedy:

The selected remedial action for this site includes: enhancing the existing institutional controls; monitoring and maintaining the existing cap; establishing environmental monitoring. Final sediment cleanup actions are to be completed after a determination that sources of contamination at the adjacent Wyckoff Facility Operable unit have been sufficiently controlled. Final sediment cleanup actions include: additional capping in remaining subtidal areas; monitoring the success of natural recovery in intertidal areas; and monitoring contaminated areas where active remediation cannot be implemented.