The Port of
Tacoma and contractors Scarsella Brothers Inc. and WAKA Group Inc. have agreed
to spend an estimated $3 million on restoration projects, including restoring
wetlands on nearly 10 acres of port property, including stream ecosystem
restoration and enhancements on nearby Upper Clear Creek where the port will
restore or improve 28 acres of wetlands as part of a larger project.
The case
originated in 2008, after the EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers discovered
that the Port of Tacoma hired a contractor to raze vegetation and destroyed
more than four acres of wetlands in Hylebos Marsh, an area that provided
important wildlife habitat and enhanced Puget Sound water quality.
The
contractor performed the work at the direction of the port, which had been working
to eradicate vineyard snails from Hylebos Marsh with guidance from the US
Department of Agriculture. An order from USDA stated that plowing and grading
to deal with the invasive snail species was acceptable in non-wetland areas
only.
At the time
EPA and the Army Corps discovered the destroyed wetlands at Hylebos Marsh, the port
also disclosed that in 2006 it directed a contractor to dump over 4,000 cubic
yards of urban fill materials—including soil, concrete and asphalt pieces—into
nearly two acres of wetlands in an area east of Hylebos Marsh.
The Clean
Water Act prohibits discharge of pollutants to the waters of the United States,
including certain wetlands, except as authorized by a permit. The Port of
Tacoma did not have required Clean Water Act permits to conduct work in the
wetlands.
The wetlands
impacted by the unpermitted activity were located adjacent to Commencement Bay,
a waterway that has undergone a major EPA Superfund cleanup and an area that
has lost most of its historic streams and wetlands.
“We can’t
afford to lose Puget Sound wetlands, especially where they are so scarce,” EPA
Regional Administrator Dennis McLerran said. “The permitting process exists to
allow responsible development that also protects the environment.”
The
settlement proposal has been filed with the court, and according to the terms
of an August 5 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and US
Justice Department, the public will have 30 days to provide comments, which the
court will consider before the settlement is approved.
The
restoration work is scheduled to begin later this month.
