8d. Memo

Settlement Agreement to Recover Environmental Costs

COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          8d 
ACTION ITEM                            Date of Meeting      March 22, 2022 
DATE:     March 22, 2022 
TO:        Steve Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    Pete Ramels, General Counsel 
Elizabeth Black, Senior Port Counsel 
SUBJECT:  Commission Authorization for the Executive Director to Execute a Settlement
Agreement to Recover Environmental Costs 
Amount of this request:                      None 

ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Commission authorization for the Executive Director to execute a settlement agreement
with Crosby & Overton Inc. to recover costs associated with the cleanup of Terminal 91 uplands.
SUMMARY 
Over several decades, the Port has spent more than $28.5 million on the environmental cleanup
of Terminal 91. The Port is now working to recover both past and future costs from other
responsible parties. 
Contamination at Terminal 91 resulted from a variety of sources. From the late 1800s through
1920, owners of the area included various railroads, land development companies, and private
individuals. The Great Northern Railroad began to develop the area in the 1900s by filling in the
area between the Magnolia Bluff and Queen Anne Hill. Fill material was added to the area
through 1920. A tank farm operated by Philip Services was constructed in the 1920s and appears
to have been operated as a fuel storage facility in the late 1920s and 1930s. The U.S. Navy
acquired the entire facility in 1942 and operated the tank farm primarily as a fuel and lubricating
oil transfer station until 1972, when the Port leased back the consolidated facility and subleased
the tank farm to Philip Services. Philip Services conducted waste oil recovery and wastewater
treatment until 1995 when they ceased operation and performed above-ground closure
activities. The tank farm was subsequently used for fuel storage and blending until 2003 and was
demolished in 2005. 
Under the proposed settlement agreement, Crosby & Overton Inc. will pay the Port $450,000 for
its share of cleanup costs associated with its contribution to the tank farm, in exchange for a
release and indemnity from the Port for potential future Terminal 91 cleanup costs. 
This matter was discussed in privileged attorney-client communications.   There are no
attachments to this memo. 
Template revised September 22, 2016.

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