PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 

COMMISSION AGENDA                 Item No.     6e 
Date of Meeting    June 9, 2009 
DATE:    May 1, 2009 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Elizabeth Leavitt, Director, Aviation Environmental Programs 
Paul Agid, Environmental Program Supervisor, Aviation Environmental Programs 
SUBJECT:  Model Toxics Control Act Agreed Order for remediation of the Lora Lake
Apartments property. 
ACTION REQUESTED 
Authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to execute an Agreed Order with the Washington
Department of Ecology (Ecology), issued under the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), for
environmental investigation of and evaluation of remediation methods for the Lora Lake Apartments
property. 
SYNOPSIS 
Soil and ground water at the Lora Lake Apartments site was contaminated prior to the Port of Seattle 
gaining ownership. The contamination is the result of former industrial operations from the 1940s  
1980s. Remediation of the contamination is required by state law, and is necessary for productive
reuse of the site by future redevelopment or other actions. 
Preliminary investigations performed as part of the Third Runway project have defined the general
character of the contamination. The Port has used the results of these investigations as a basis for
protecting against mobilization of contaminants from the site. 
The Port has negotiated with Ecology to define the scope of an Agreed Order under which the Port
will protect the site from contaminant migration during demolition of the existing apartment building
above-ground structures, and then perform a Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS). 
The results of the RI/FS will form the basis for site remediation.
Authorization of expenditures for the Lora Lake Apartments property environmental management
activities were previously approved by the Commission in its 2009 Port Environmental Reserve
spending authorization of December 15, 2008. No additional authorization of funds is being
requested at this time.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
May 1, 2009 
Page 2 

BACKGROUND 
The Lora Lake Apartments property was the site of a barrel cleaning facility in the 1940s  1950s,
and an auto wrecking yard in the 1960s  1980s. Both of these types of industrial uses are known to
have had high potential for releasing contaminants to the environment during those periods. During
the construction of the apartment complex in 1986-87, the developer conducted environmental
investigations and remediation that were approved by Ecology under laws in place at that time. 
The Port purchased the Lora Lake Apartments property in 1998 in support of the development of the
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) Third Runway. By 1999 all residents had vacated
the property in anticipation of Port redevelopment for airport and airport-compatible light
industrial/commercial use. Prior to demolition, the Port sold the property to the King County
Housing Authority (KCHA) for a limited period, for residential use. KCHA sold the property back
to the Port in July 2007, at which time the Port demolished a sufficient number of structures to
comply with FAA regulations for airport runway operation. 
At the same time, the Port conducted environmental sampling to obtain information about site
conditions for future property redevelopment. Sample data indicated significant contamination
remained at the site. Further preliminary investigations confirmed those findings. 
The Port has negotiated with Ecology to complete the necessary remaining detailed site
investigations under Ecology supervision pursuant to a MTCA Agreed Order. The RI/FS Agreed 
Order incorporates a specific scope of work for developing a public participation plan; establishing
site protections that minimize the risk of releasing hazardous substances during structure demolition;
conducting investigations to fully characterize the nature and extent of on-site and associated off-site
contamination; and evaluating appropriate site remediation methods. Ecology is committed to
executing the RI/FS Agreed Order on a schedule that supports the Lora Lake Apartments structure
demolition project previously authorized by the Commission. 
Ecology anticipates issuing, at the conclusion of the work required by the RI/FS Agreed Order, a
second Agreed Order, for supervision of final remediation design and implementation. The core
elements of the scope of work to be completed under the Remediation Agreed Order will be
preparation of a site Cleanup Action Plan, preparation of associated construction documents, and
implementation and documentation of the cleanup. The Remediation Agreed Order will be the
subject of a future Commission authorization request. Insufficient information is available at this
time to estimate the cost or schedule for the Remediation Phase of Work. 
Staff today requests that the Commission authorize execution of the RI/FS Agreed Order.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
May 1, 2009 
Page 3 

BUSINESS PLAN OBJECTIVES 
Remediation of the Lora Lake Apartments property will minimize to acceptable levels threats to the
environment caused by historical property uses and operations. Completion of site remediation is
required for cooperative Port  City of Burien property redevelopment. The product of these efforts,
as well as the attendant compliance with regulatory mandates, management of Port liabilities, and
support of the local community, aligns with the goals and objectives of the Aviation Division 
Business Plan. Returning the property to productive use benefits both the Airport and the local
community. 
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED / RECOMMENDED ACTION 
The following alternatives were considered for accomplishing the work described in the Scope of
Work: 
Alternative 1 
Do not execute the MTCA RI/FS Agreed Order for the Lora Lake Apartments property. This
alternative could result in the issuance of a unilateral Ecology enforcement order to perform the
work, which would eliminate Port control over investigation and remediation activity and cost. 
Alternative 2 
Execute the MTCA RI/FS Agreed Order and conduct the investigation and evaluation of remedial
alternatives appropriate for the property. This alternative will result in performance of the next steps 
toward completion of remediation of contaminated Port property, as required by state law. This is
the recommended alternative. 
SCOPE OF WORK 
The principal elements of the RI/FS Agreed Order scope of work are as follows: 
Conduct an interim action to prevent migration of contaminants from the Lora Lake
Apartments property during above-ground structure demolition. 
Prepare a Public Participation Plan. 
Prepare a RI/FS Work Plan. 
Perform a Remedial Investigation as defined in the work plan. 
Perform a Feasibility Study to determine the method of site remediation.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
May 1, 2009 
Page 4 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 
Cost Estimate 
The estimated total project expenditure required under the RI/FS Agreed Order is $1,000,000. 
Investigation results cannot be predicted, and therefore the resulting actual costs may be above or
below this estimate. 
Source of Funds 
All costs will be accounted for as environmental reserves and charged to expense in accordance with
Port Policy AC-9. As such, the Airport Development Fund will be the funding source. 
The Lora Lake Apartments property remediation program was included within the Commission's
2009 environmental reserve spending authorization, approved on December 15, 2008. Additional
environmental reserves will be established as more site-specific information is generated, in
compliance with Port Policy AC-9, and will be reported to the Commission via routine
environmental reserve reports and spending authorization requests. 
COMMUNITY/CUSTOMER/ORGANIZATION IMPACTS 
Elimination of unacceptable levels of environmental risk caused by the presence of contaminants in
soil and groundwater is not only required by state and federal law, it is the hallmark of responsible
environmental stewardship, from the perspectives of both the surrounding residential and business
communities and the customers we serve. Execution of the Agreed Order will commit the Port to
remediate the Lora Lake Apartments property in satisfaction of both regulatory and community
interests. 
PROJECT SCHEDULE 
Work will begin on the effective date of the Agreed Order, which is the later of the dates on which 
the Port and Ecology execute the document. The Agreed Order schedule, which is conservative,
estimates completion of the RI/FS scope of work by mid-year 2012. 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTION 
On May 5, 2009, the Port Commission authorized procurement of environmental consulting services
to support the Port's implementation of the Lora Lake Apartments property remediation. 
On December 15, 2008, the Port Commission approved 2009 expenditure of $10,396,000 from Port
Environmental Reserve funds, for environmental remediation of the various Port properties for
which remediation funds have been reserved. The Lora Lake Apartments property was included in
that authorization request.