Many Bellingham residents might not be aware of it, but tucked away in this cheery community is what the Environmental Protection Agency deemed one of the nation’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites. Overlooking the northwest corner of Bellingham like an ominous lighthouse, a cooling tower broadcasts the name "Oeser" in deep maroon. Past the entrance gates, freshly treated telephone poles are neatly stacked like gigantic cigars.
This is the Oeser Cedar Company, a 26-acre wood treatment plant on the outskirts of Marine Drive. In August, Oeser agreed to pay $8.6 million for federal cleanup costs — eight years after the EPA targeted the site for its unsafe levels of toxins and possible connection to water contamination in Little Squalicum Creek. The facility had been treating cedar since the 1940s, an era when environmental law was far from perfect.
"Many wood companies tend to have messy operations," said Mary Jane Nearman, the EPA’s Oeser project manager.
Oeser president Chris Sechrist was unavailable for comment on the issue at the time of publication.
On Dec. 11, 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation Liability Act — or CERCLA — which has since become the country’s most effective method for holding companies responsible for hazardous waste released. The law, commonly called Superfund, created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries that gave the U.S. government the authority and money needed to respond to hazardous wastes that threaten public health.
In 1997, the EPA added Oeser to the nation’s Superfund list for 60 years of gradual soil and groundwater contamination, including significant levels of pentachlorophenol and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PCP, in surface and subsurface soil, in groundwater and in a deepwater aquifer. Nearman said the EPA carried out a cleanup for immediate risk in 1999, which consisted of removing the most contaminated soil — a process consuming the better part of nine months.
Creosote is the black, sticky substance used to preserve wood such as railroad ties and telephone poles. Oeser used the substance for more than 40 years. Since the mid-1980s, Nearman said Oeser replaced creosote with PCP as its preservative. Both are hazardous.
"PCP burns, so when steam engines or locomotives were used to transfer logs, combustibility was an issue," Nearman said.
Creosote and PCP are dangerous to the skin, but most importantly the EPA warned companies to keep these chemicals out of contact with public drinking water.
Little Squalicum Park is a 320-acre forest next to Oeser. It is lined with a pebble trail leading to the water. According to a Washington State Department of Ecology fact sheet, the park also contains dioxins, copper and zinc. Ecology considers Bellingham Technical College, the Birchwood neighborhood, a railway bridge and Oeser potential culprits for contamination in the park.
"Oeser isn’t a determined source," said Mark Herrenkohl, a scientific consultant the city of Bellingham hired to cover the creek’s Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. "That’s why we’re here, to find out."
Herrenkohl, who has been clearing brush in the area to take soil samples, said Ecology listed Little Squalicum Creek at a No. 1 hazard ranking.
"The RI/FS is a supplementary sampling that is reverified if insufficient data from an area where an unexpected ‘hit’ or contaminant is found," said Mary O’Herron, the Little Squalicum Park site manager for Ecology.
The recreational area also must meet regulations of the Washington State Model Toxics Control Act, which includes extensive ground and surface water testing and statistical analysis.
"The creek has levels of contaminants related to the Superfund, although Oeser will say different," said Tim Wahl, the city’s project coordinator for Little Squalicum Creek.
Jack Weiss, executive director of the Oeser Cedar Cleanup Coalition, agreed that the company didn’t consider the creek. The coalition is composed of community members from areas neighboring the Oeser site and is unaffiliated with the EPA or Oeser itself. Weiss said the organization "keeps tabs" on the cleanup efforts.
"Air pollution, noise pollution, the stench of PCP and diesel oil is not pleasant," Weiss said. "Many people have had respiratory problems, including my wife."
Weiss and the Cleanup Coalition aren’t the only ones concerned. Charles Caldart, attorney with the National Environmental Law Center, is one of two lawyers who filed a lawsuit against Oeser in 2002. The center sued Oeser for violations of hazardous waste laws against water, soil and air pollution.
"PCP is a probable human carcinogen that has a variety of negative effects on aquatic life," Caldart said.
Although Nearman believes that Oeser has been responsible and met the requirements of the EPA, she said the community’s concerns are legitimate.
"It’s reasonable to think this if a facility is nearby," Nearman said. "It’s good to have folks pushing for those answers."
Locating and resolving the source of the Superfund contaminants is the next step. Nearman said the cleanup calls for capping the soil or removing soils with high levels of toxic waste.
"No matter what cleanup they do, you won’t be able to build parks or houses on it," Weiss said. "The high level of dioxins will only permit for industrial structures."
Weiss said his organization doesn’t accept that capping the toxins with asphalt will work as an adequate mitigation method. He said asphalt can crack, and it’s possible for the contaminant to spread.
Oeser agreed to fund $500,000 toward remediation of the creek, Nearman said.
"The business just wants to stay afloat and the EPA must keep their standards up," said Tim Douglas, Bellingham’s former mayor. "As a former mayor, you learn that this situation is actually a tough choice. You have to think about the economy and job growth, yet also balance it with citizens’ own health."
Since its listing, Oeser will have contributed approximately $15 million to clean up the wood treatment facility, Nearman said. But Weiss said he believes the government will need approximately $20 million to fix the pollution problem, and Oeser isn’t paying enough.
"Oeser will pay $15 million — the rest goes to taxpayers," Weiss said. "In true Republican fashion, they’d rather see taxpayers pay than a company go out of business."