Site Description
Terminal 91 (T-91) is an a 210-acre site located at 2001 West Garfield Street in the Interbay neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The property consists of an upland area, two piers (Piers 90 and 91), and submerged sediment around the piers. The site is currently used as a cruise ship terminal, and for tug and large vessel moorage, commercial fishing vessel offloading and moorage, and seafood cold storage. There is also a business complex with various storage areas.
Site History
The Great Northern Railroad began to develop the area in the late 1890s by filling the area between Magnolia and Queen Anne. In 1913, the Port purchased property from the Great Northern Railroad to create T-91. Pier 90 was constructed in 1913, and Pier 91 was constructed in 1919; they were designated as Piers 40 and 41, respectively, and were the largest earth-filled commercial piers in the world at that time. Piers 90 and 91 were originally used for loading and unloading materials such as lumber, steel, and coal and for storing vegetable oil. The Port operated T-91 from 1913 to 1942.
From 1942 to 1976, the United States Navy took over T-91 as a naval station and expanded the boundaries to include all the property that is there today. The Navy sold the property back to the Port in 1976.
In addition to the Piers, a 4-acre tank farm was constructed in the 1920s and leased by the Port to various tenants for fuel storage until the Navy took over the tank farm as a fuel and lubricating oil transfer station. From the late 1970s until 1995, the tank farm served as a waste oil recovery and wastewater treatment and storage facility. It was demolished in 2005 after being used for fuel storage and blending from 1995 to 2003.
Contamination Issue
Historical industrial practices at T-91 contaminated the sediment and groundwater with gasoline and heavy oil range petroleum hydrocarbons, metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, silver, and zinc), phthalates, semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Discarded military munitions were also discovered in the sediment at T-91 in 2010.
Why is the Port Doing this Cleanup?
The entire T-91 facility is regulated by the Department of Ecology (Ecology) under a Dangerous Waste Management Permit. This includes corrective action requirements under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to address contamination at hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities. The Port has conducted several site investigations and cleanups under these requirements.
Status
The upland cleanup of soil and groundwater has been completed, and the groundwater continues to be monitored to confirm that cleanup goals are being met.
The sediment remedial investigation was completed in December 2023. A sediment feasibility study is underway and will be completed in 2026. The Department of Ecology is expected to issue a Cleanup Plan by the end of 2026, following a public comment period. The Cleanup design will be conducted in 2027, with cleanup itself beginning in 2028.
Contact Information
Joanna Florer | Senior Environmental Program Manager | [email protected]
Additional Resources
Visit Ecology’s Terminal 91 Cleanup Site page for more information.
