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.