west-pa-harbor

Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – The move to get Western Port Angeles Harbor cleaned up of decades of industrial toxins is moving forward with the completion of the a feasibility study by the Potentially Liable Parties (PLPs), which include the City of Port Angeles

City Manager Nathan West, at last week’s Council meeting, signed an amended agreement with the PLPs and another with the Department of Ecology that will launch the next step, a draft Cleanup Action Plan.

West says he expects that the City’s portion of the costs will largely be paid for by insurance companies.

“When it comes to City costs on the cleanup, we intend to have our insurers, who ensured us back in the 80s, those insurance companies…we intend to have them pay the vast majority of the cost for the cleanup. You know, it couldn’t be more important for us to have that insurance coverage so that this isn’t something that our taxpayers or ratepayers are having to pay for. And with that in mind, knowing that our insurers are going to be there to cover these costs, I am confident that we can move forward with it.”

The exact timing and costs for the cleanup are not yet known, but West says more information will be forthcoming as the process moves forward with the Department of Ecology.

Other PLPs on the hook for paying for the cleanup include Georgia-Pacific, Nippon Paper, Merrill & Ring and the Port of Port Angeles.