Site Description
Terminal 117, formerly known as the Malarkey Asphalt Plant, located at 8700 Dallas Avenue South on the west side of the Duwamish River in South Park. The site is adjacent to the Boeing Company, the South Park Marina, and several South Park residences.
The site is currently a habitat restoration site and community park know as Duwamish River People’s Park.
Learn more about the Terminal 117 cleanup project.
Site History
Starting in 1937, the Duwamish Manufacturing Company and Malarkey Asphalt Company operated here with minimal environmental regulations, as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was not formed until 1970. These companies heavily polluted the soil and shoreline of the site and went out of business in 1993. The Port acquired a portion of the property in 1999 with the plan to build a maritime cargo terminal. In 2003, the EPA designated the site as a highly toxic “Early Action” Superfund site. The EPA found contaminated soil, asphalt, oil, pipelines, a non-leaking underground diesel storage tank, drums and debris in the riverbank resulting in risks of exposures to PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), highly toxic chemicals hazardous to public health than were banned in the 1970s. Since the Port and City now owned these polluted areas, both government agencies became responsible for cleaning up the contamination.
Contamination Issue
The primary contamination of concern was PCBs in soil, sediment, and groundwater.
Why Did the Port do this Cleanup?
Designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an Early Action Area as part of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site, Terminal 117 was cleaned up as a joint project of the Port of Seattle and the City of Seattle with oversight by the EPA. After the cleanup, the Port converted 14 acres to critical fish and wildlife habitat and public shoreline access. This large-scale restoration project supports recovery of the endangered Southern Resident orca population by significantly increasing habitat critical to abundance and health of Chinook salmon.
Status
Terminal 117 uplands soil and in-water sediments cleanup was completed in December 2014. The uplands cleanup included removal of pavement, derelict structures and 60,000 tons of soil and sediment. PCB contaminated soil and sediments were excavated and hauled off-site to a licensed waste landfill. The City of Seattle began the next phase of environmental cleanup in 2015, including stormwater and street right-of-way improvements in upland areas adjacent to Terminal 117. During construction, steel sheet piling was used to isolate contaminated soil and water from the river.
The Port is continuing to monitor the effectiveness of the cleanup and to ensure that it is still protecting people and the environment. As of 2024, the Port completed year 9 monitoring and the remedy is still proving to be effective. Year 10 monitoring will occur in 2025. After year 10 monitoring is completed, the site will continue to be monitored as part of the larger Lower Duwamish Waterway Cleanup.
In 2020, the Port broke ground on the construction of Duwamish River People's Park, a habitat restoration site and community park that opened in 2022.
Contact Information
Joanna Florer | Senior Environmental Program Manager | [email protected]
