DESCRIPTION
This project will remove 500 derelict creosote pilings along the 2.5 miles of shoreline which amounts to approximately 30 to 40 tons of creosote from the shoreline environment. Creosote is a heavy, oily liquid made from coal tar or wood tar and used as a wood preservative. Removal of the pilings will help restore intertidal and near shore habitats and improve overall water quality.
Pierce County Public Works Sewer Division was provided a $2.5 million Washington State Budget Appropriation in 2013 from the Department of Ecology's Model Toxics Act Fund for the removal of accessory derelict pilings, dock materials, and associated non-marine materials from the Chambers Creek Properties Shoreline. The original appropriation of was divided through the utilization of two interagency agreements between the Department of Natural Resources and Ecology and Pierce County and Ecology. The first agreement between Ecology and Natural Resources directly funded the removal of the North and South Docks. This initial agreement earmarked $1,711,200 of the award for removal of these structures by the Department of Natural Resources. The agreement also specifically provided funding to retain an Architecture and Engineering (A&E) contractor to assist with developing demolition plans, water quality monitoring, and oversight of the removal activities and to retain a public works contractor to perform the dock and piling removals.
