Rayonier Mill cleanup

The Rayonier cleanup study area

We define cleanup sites by the extent of contamination. Because we don’t yet know how far contamination from the mill spreads, we don’t know the formal boundaries of this cleanup site. Currently we are focused on a study area that includes:

• Property owned or leased by Rayonier (uplands area)
• Marine sediments next to the property (marine area)

Investigating the study area is Rayonier’s responsibility. After completing the cleanup in the study area, we will investigate contamination beyond the study area to draw site boundaries that clearly define responsibility for cleanup.

Environmental concerns

Until the 1970s the mill released untreated wastewater from the pulp-making process into Port Angeles Harbor. The mill also burned seawater-soaked wood in the hog fuel boilers. The smoke from the boilers carried pollutants, including dioxins. Other industrial chemicals were released into the environment as well.

The mill started treating its wastewater in the 1970s. After this, it released less pollution into the harbor.

We found these pollutants in the study area:

• Petroleum hydrocarbons, such as hydraulic or fuel oil
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from electrical equipment
• Lead from a lead-based mortar between bricks inside part of the mill
• Dioxins and furans from boiler emissions and ash
• Arsenic

We also found dioxins and furans in off-property areas.

Progress so far

Near the beginning of the cleanup process, Rayonier and Ecology found many cleanup activities that could move forward quickly. Before the long process of planning further actions began, we made some meaningful progress.

Early cleanup actions

Between 1993 and 2006, Rayonier demolished buildings, removed contaminated material, and filled in soil pits with clean soil. Early partial cleanups like this are called “interim actions.” They’re designed to quickly address areas with the highest contamination. These quicker cleanups help keep contamination from spreading.

Through interim actions, Rayonier removed:

• Over 24,000 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil and concrete (that’s about 40 football fields covered with a foot of soil).
• 2,700 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated wood residue left from the hog fuel pile.
• 2,500 sunken logs from the log pond.
• 4,800 tons of soil from the spent sulfite liquor lagoon.

You can read more about this work in the 2006 Interim Action Report and the 2003 Interim Action Report.

Studying before the final cleanup

We have conducted many studies on the study area and surrounding areas. To learn more, see Studying Rayonier Mill: What we've learned.

When will cleanup be finished?

If you have followed this cleanup project, you have likely noticed changes to the dates of cleanup goals at Rayonier Mill. Dates associated with cleanup goals are estimates. We follow a process to maintain accountability and motivate progress that allows for updates and extensions to the timeline.

Before we can plan an effective cleanup, we need to know about the kinds of contamination and where they are. We take time to research a site and plan its cleanup because we want to ensure cleanup is done right.

As the overseeing authority, it is important for us to be able to request major changes to reports and plans if they don’t meet our standards. Over the course of this cleanup, we’ve had updates to state laws and cleanup standards that required significant revisions to prepared documents and plans. We have also extended the timeline to adjust to major changes in the Sediment Management Standards, which significantly impacted our approach to cleanup in Port Angeles Harbor.