PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.      4a 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting      July 1, 2014 
DATE:    June 23, 2014 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Director Seaport Environmental and Planning 
Kathy Bahnick, Manager, Seaport Environmental and Planning 
SUBJECT:  Second Amendment of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Administrative Order on
Consent; Second Amendment of the Lower  Duwamish Waterway Group
Memorandum of Agreement 
Amount of This Request: N/A        Source of Funds: Environmental Remediation 
Liability Non Ops 
Est. Total Project Cost:    $3,000,000 - $5,000,000, 25% of which is the Port's responsibility 

ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Commission authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to execute (1) a Second 
Amendment  to  the  Administrative  Order  on  Consent  (Order)  for  Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the Lower Duwamish (LDW), entered into with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct an Enhanced Natural Recovery
(ENR)/Activated Carbon (AC) Pilot Study at a total estimated cost in the range of $3,000,000 to
$5,000,000 and (2) a Second Amendment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group (LDWG)
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to provide for equal sharing of the costs of the ENR/AC
Pilot Study between the LDWG members (Port of Seattle, King County, City of Seattle and The
Boeing Company).  Funds to perform this work will be included in the Environmental
Remediation Liability annual authorization. 
SYNOPSIS 
A final Remedial Investigation and final Feasibility Study was completed by the LDWG and
conditionally approved by EPA and the Department of Ecology.  However, EPA is now
requiring the performance of additional investigations, including the ENR/AC Study, to further
the agency's decision-making process for site remedial actions. The MOA amendment is for
implementation of an ENR/AC pilot study requested by the EPA and Department of Ecology
under the amended Order, and for cost sharing for this work and the agency oversight costs.
King County will be administering the contracts following public procurement procedures, but
the LDWG will retain authority to select contractors and oversee the work. 


Template revised May 30, 2013.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 23, 2014 
Page 2 of 4 
BACKGROUND 
In December 2000, the Port, the City of Seattle, King County, and The Boeing Company entered
into an Administrative Order on Consent for Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (the
"Order") with EPA, the goals of which were to determine the nature and extent of contamination
in the Duwamish Superfund Site, and to determinate and evaluate alternatives for remedial action 
to clean up the site. In June 2000, the same parties entered into the Lower Duwamish Waterway
Group Memorandum of Agreement, in order to split the costs of performing the Order. 
EPA released the conditionally-approved final FS, the Proposed Plan and Environmental Justice
report for public comment in late February 2013. The Proposed Plan comment period closed in
June 2013. The final agency Record of Decision (ROD) is expected to be issued no sooner than 
late 2014.
EPA has now determined that additional investigations are necessary in order to finalize its
remedy decision as part of the Feasibility Study process. The first additional investigation that
EPA is requiring is the Fisher Study. In March 2013, the First Amendment to the Order was
signed by all the LDWG parties. Under the First Amendment, the LDWG agreed to conduct a
Fisher Study designed to help improve the effectiveness of the institutional controls (e.g. fishing
restrictions and education efforts) that are expected to be required by the ROD. Joint public
outreach activities were also covered under the First Amendment to the Order. The LDWG
MOA was also amended in March 2013 at the same time that the Order was amended, to enable
the LDWG parties to share the Fisher Study costs. 
The next required investigation is the ENR/AC Pilot Study. The Second Amendment to the
Order will require that the parties investigate the potential use of alternative cleanup technologies 
(specifically, activated carbon) to enhance natural recovery.  LDWG has proposed the use of
activated carbon as an enhanced natural recovery supplement in order to reduce the
bioavailability of PCBs and other contaminants and to potentially allow enhanced natural
recovery to be used to a greater degree. This technology involves the addition of activated carbon
to a thin layer of sand that is mixed in with surface sediments. The results of the investigation
will be used to determine if activated carbon is effective for this site and what its impacts might
be.  LDWG believes that focused use of activated carbon within the range of expected
concentrations would present minimal risks to benthic organisms and could be used to provide
better overall remedy performance and possibly decrease the dredging footprint.
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION AND DETAILS 
Project Objectives 
This study will help guide where enhanced natural recovery can appropriately be used as part of
the overall cleanup remedy. 
Scope of Work 
This amendment will allow the LDWG partners to design and implement an ENR/AC pilot
study.  ENR/AC is one of the cleanup options identified for Lower Duwamish Waterway
sediments. The goal of the study is to verify that enhanced natural recovery amended with

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 23, 2014 
Page 3 of 4 
activated carbon can be successfully applied in the LDW and to evaluate if it will remain stable
in more dynamic areas of the LDW.  This will help inform the long-term design of the riverwide
cleanup.
Schedule 
The study is estimated to take approximately three years to complete, depending on the time
required for agency review/public comment and construction constraints. 
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 
Budget Status and Source of Funds 
There is no funding request as part of this authorization.                                        Funding for the associated costs will be 
included in the annual Environmental Remedial Liability (ERL) authorization. Assuming that
we enter into a MOA amendment covering this work, ENR/AC costs would be shared with our
LDWG partners. Investigation costs are also eligible for state MTCA grant funds when they are 
available. The pre-design estimate for this work is $3,000,000 to $5,000,000.  In the draft MOA
amendment covering this work, the Port would pay one quarter of the costs ($750,000 to
$1,250,000). 
STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES 
This work supports the Century Agenda goal of being the greenest, most energy efficient Port in
North America by moving toward cleanup of the Lower Duwamish Waterway. Meeting our 
Duwamish Superfund obligations is a critical component of the Green Gateway strategy of 
meeting our legal obligations as efficiently and effectively as possible. 
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE 
Economic Development 
The Port and the other LDWG parties continue to carefully control costs associated with the 
effort to minimize overall economic impact.                               The ENR/AC investigation is intended to assist
with that effort. 
Environmental Responsibility 
Addressing unacceptable levels of environmental risk caused by the presence of contaminants in 
soil, groundwater, and sediment is not only the goal of numerous state and federal laws; it
reflects our commitment to environmental stewardship, from the perspectives of both the
surrounding communities and the customers that we serve. This study is a critical step for EPA
and Ecology to create a cleanup plan for the LDW that is capable of implementation. 
Community Benefits 
ENR/AC can be an effective and less invasive cleanup technology when used in the appropriate
setting. The study will help identify areas where this technology can be used.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 23, 2014 
Page 4 of 4 

ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED 
1.  Alternative 1)  Do not authorize the CEO to enter into the Second Amendment to the
Order. EPA could issue a unilateral enforcement order requiring that the Port pay its share of
the work. Alternatively the remaining LDWG parties, who would be left solely responsible,
could bring a claim for contribution. Not entering into the Second Amendment to the Order
would seriously impair our working relationship with the other LDWG parties and with EPA.
This is not the recommended alternative.
2.  Alternative 2)  Authorize the CEO to enter into the Second Amendment to the Order, and
the accompanying Second Amendment to the MOA with the City, Boeing and County, to
allow continuation of the current working relationship and to continue sharing costs, pending
a final allocation, for the required additional studies and agency oversight. This is the
recommended alternative. 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST 
Second Amendment to the Administrative Order on Consent for Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study for the Lower Duwamish 
Second Amendment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group Memorandum of
Agreement 

PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 



February 26, 2013  First Amendment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group
Administrative Order on Consent 
January 22, 2013  First Amendment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group
Memorandum of Agreement 
October 12, 2010  Briefing on the Lower Duwamish Waterway Feasibility Study 
May 5, 2009  Briefing on the Lower Duwamish Waterway Feasibility Study 
November 4, 2008  Briefing on the Lower Duwamish Waterway Remedial Investigation
and Feasibility Study 
November 6, 2007  Briefing on Lower Duwamish Sediment Superfund site