About 20 years after the Pope & Talbot mill shut down, the Washington Department of Ecology is scheduled to begin a $17 million project to remove wood waste and contaminated sediment from the Port Gamble Bay.
The Kitsap Sun reports that the two-year-long cleanup effort will begin Monday. The department plans to either dug up or cover 70,000 cubic yards of waste and contamination left over from the mill, which closed in 1995.
The department also plans to removed creosote-treated pilings from the water and demolish piers, docks and other structures.
Pope & Talbot used the bay site to manufacture and ship wood products for more than 140 years. The area remains contaminated with dioxin and creosote, a wood preservative that is toxic to marine life.
