Budd Inlet Cleanup and Restoration

The contamination is the result of industrial activities dating as far back as the 1920s, before environmental laws and regulations were as protective as today. Previously, there were many polluting industries on South Budd Inlet including wood treating plants, numerous forest products facilities with burners, and bulk petroleum-storage and handling facilities. The Port has been identified as one of the parties that is potentially responsible for the contamination as they owned the underlying property that was leased to these industries. Other organizations are being identified, though many industries that contributed to contamination no longer operate on the peninsula or even exist. Past and current stormwater runoff and sewage outfalls have also contributed to contamination.

The Budd Inlet cleanup and restoration plan aims to not only repair environmental damage from legacy contamination, but also to enhance recreational spaces and community connections along the waterfront.

Thurston County Health Department advises against swimming and fishing in the Budd Inlet. Contaminated sediment in the Budd Inlet contains dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that can accumulate in certain aquatic animals such as shellfish, known as “benthic organisms,” that live on or in it. Other animals that eat these organisms can also be harmed, including orcas, salmon, bald eagles and other birds, harbor seals and people. The main way people can be exposed to these contaminants in sediment is by eating fish or shellfish from an area that is contaminated. A top priority of the cleanup project is to protect human health and the aquatic environment and species that live in the Budd Inlet and provide a clean and healthy waterway for our local community and wildlife.  

Yes. The Port is part of the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan collaborative which includes the City of Olympia and LOTT.  The Sea Level Rise Plan recommends actions that the parties will undertake to mitigate the effects of sea level rise and global warming. The Port will investigate the use of dredge material to raise the level of the Port Peninsula and create landscape berms and raised walkways.  Future projects that address sea level rise and increased precipitation also include the development of a flood monitoring strategy, installing an array to monitor land subsidence, and creating Design and Development Standards.

Before the Port begins habitat restoration, we first need to know what habitat needs to be restored. This is determined by testing for contamination, finding out where it is located, and then designing a plan to eliminate that source. When the cleanup of the contamination is complete, we will have more assurance that habitat restoration will succeed. For instance, the Budd Inlet cleanup plan will help identify areas for sediment relocation and habitat creation as well as complete the cleanup actions required by the Washington Department of Ecology. The cleanup plan will also include required mitigation, which may include targeted habitat restoration.

At this time, it doesn’t appear to, but if it does, the Port will be required to complete another round of remediation.  With the approval of the Washington Department of Ecology, the Port performed a major cleanup to remove and contain contamination at the Cascade Pole cleanup site in the early 2000s. Approximately 40,000 cubic yards of sediment was dredged from Budd Inlet and placed into an upland containment cell which was capped, surrounded by a wall and safeguarded with a groundwater pump and treat system. The Port continues to monitor the groundwater and if it is found that the remedy is no longer protective, Ecology will require further remedial action.