Port Angeles council backs city comment urging full removal at Rainier Mill site

Port Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to direct staff to submit comments to the Washington Department of Ecology urging a “complete, timely and high‑quality” cleanup of the Rainier Mill property and asking Ecology to select alternative 5, the cleanup option that would remove contaminated soils from the site and transport them to an appropriate landfill.

The council action followed presentations from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, local environmental groups, and consultants, and a large public comment turnout in favor of full removal. City Manager Nathan West told the council staff were recommending comments that press Ecology to select alternative 5 and “request a complete, timely and high quality cleanup of the Rainier site.”

The decision matters because the Rainier Mill site sits on Port Angeles’ waterfront, adjacent to Ennis Creek and the Olympic Discovery Trail, and has been subject to contamination and partial interim cleanup for decades. Private ownership, shoreline leases and complex marine and upland contamination have complicated remediation, speakers said; selecting…