< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

U.S. adds Seattle's Duwamish Waterway to National Priority List of polluted sites on September 13, 2001.

HistoryLink.org Essay 3561 : Printer-Friendly Format

On September 13, 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adds Seattle's Duwamish Waterway to its National Priority List of polluted sites. As much as four feet of sediment at the mouth of the waterway is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals, and other chemicals. The pollution is the result of discharges of industrial and municipal wastes since the area was developed for industrial use in the early 1900s. Under the federal Superfund law, National Priority List sites can be cleaned up at the expense of the responsible parties and the Superfund.

The Duwamish River originally meandered down its fertile valley and emptied through wetlands into Elliott Bay. The wetlands were filled with soil from Seattle's regrade and canal projects. Industries were established on the river to take advantage of its access to the sea.

Beginning in 1913, the meanders were straightened to allow deep water vessels to dock at industries and to control flooding. Lumber mills, canneries, and other manufacturing operations discharged their wastes into the fresh water that flowed to Puget Sound and the sea. Operations such as shipyards and the Boeing Company's manufacture of airplanes produced persistent waste streams including heavy metals and volatile organic compounds. Municipal sewage systems, which also received industrial wastes, contributed to the toxic brew. Laws did not begin to regulate these discharges until midway through the twentieth century.

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act - The Superfund - (40 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) to clean up polluted sites around the country. The Duwamish joined 48 other Superfund sites in Washington state including Seattle's Harbor Island, Tacoma's Commencement Bay, and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington.

Sources:
Larry Lange, "Duwamish Now On Cleanup List," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 14, 2001, p. B-5.

By David Wilma, September 15, 2001

Travel through time (chronological order):
< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

Related Topics: Environment | Government & Politics | Washington Rivers |

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You