Executive praises Boeing’s commitment to cleanup of Duwamish Waterway

Urges continued cooperation of all parties to promote cleanup and restoration of federal Superfund site

Citing the environmental and economic benefits of a cleaner Lower Duwamish Waterway, King County Executive Dow Constantine today applauded plans by The Boeing Company to restore a half-mile of the waterway, create new wetlands and establish a resting area for migratory fish.

“Cleaning up the Lower Duwamish is the right thing to do - an obligation to those who were here before us and those who will come after,” said Executive Constantine, a member of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group. “Cleanup will benefit residents as well as the businesses along the waterway, which generate nearly 100,000 jobs. Boeing’s projects are an important step toward restoring the long-term health of the waterway, and I look forward to continuing to work with them.”

The Boeing cleanup results from obligations under the Natural Resources Damages Assessment (NRDA) process, a process authorized under the federal Superfund law. The process allows the federal government to collect repayment for damage done to the environment from past pollution at a Superfund site.

The cleanup was negotiated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Interior, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Suquamish and Muckleshoot Indian tribes. NOAA is administering the NRDA process for the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site for the Department of Commerce.

King County is also engaged in the NRDA process, and is in similar negotiations with NOAA. NOAA addresses NRDA claims in sequence and began negotiations with Boeing ahead of initiating them with King County. King County is working closely with NOAA to meet its obligations under NRDA, and has identified potential sites and has agreed to begin preliminary habitat design work.

King County, led by Executive Constantine, is a member of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group, which was formed in 2001 to help coordinate cleanup efforts in the Lower Duwamish undertaken by the City of Seattle, the Port of Seattle, The Boeing Company, and King County.

“King County has been working for decades to create and restore habitat in the Lower Duwamish,” added Executive Constantine. “By working together to get cleanup underway quickly, we can protect the environmental, maritime and recreational benefits of the waterway for generations to come.”

People enjoy clean water and a healthy environment because of King County's wastewater treatment program. The county’s Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for more than 40 years.

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