3815_PGSF WMVD Pkg 2_Vol 4-2_03.03.2026_BXWA_Certified

ASPECT CONSULTING PROJECT NO. AS190583A-08  MAY 21, 2025 FINAL ES-1 Executive Summary The remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) for the Upland Area of the Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Site, a former pulp and paper mill, in Everett, Washington, has been completed to address environmental contamination from decades of industrial activity. The RI/FS has been conducted in accordance with Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Agreed Order No. DE 9876 (Agreed Order) and consistent with the Washington State Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). The Site includes portions of upland and in-water areas along the East Waterway of Port Gardner Bay where hazardous substances have been deposited, stored, disposed of, placed, or otherwise come to be located. The Agreed Order specifically addresses the Upland Area; the In-Water Area, seaward of mean higher high water (MHHW), is being addressed under a separate Agreed Order for the East Waterway (Agreed Order No. DE 11350). The Upland Area comprises approximately 54 acres located in an industrial area on the west side of downtown Everett, Washington. Since the site’s initial development in the late 1800s, various industrial businesses operated on the Upland Area, most recently a pulp and paper mill. Following shutdown of the mill in 2012, all structures were demolished except for the distribution warehouse, located near the southern property boundary. The northernmost 8.9 acres of the Upland Area contains the former mill wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and is currently owned by the City of Everett and referred to as the City Utility Property. The remaining 46 acres of the Upland Area is owned by the Port of Everett and is currently used as a terminal cargo yard. The only mill structures remaining on the Port property are the distribution warehouse and an active Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) electrical substation. Prior to the Agreed Order, independent remedial actions conducted between 1989 and 2009 included decommissioning and removal of 9 underground storage tanks (USTs) and 2 aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), localized remedial excavation of petroleum- or xylene-contaminated soils in four discrete areas, and removal of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-containing transformers and underlying PCB-contaminated concrete and soil. The RI/FS report presents the results of these remedial actions, and information obtained during Upland Area investigations completed between 1989 and 2012, the first formal interim cleanup action (IA) conducted in 2013-2014, the RI characterization completed between 2013 and 2017, the second IA conducted in 2020, and the third IA conducted in 2023. The data used in the RI is representative of current conditions for the Upland Area, following completion of the IAs. Interim Actions The three IAs were conducted following mill demolition activities and generally consisted of the following elements: