OLYMPIA — The state Department of Natural Resources will launch a major clean-up next week of creosote-saturated pilings and debris along the Puget Sound shores of Kitsap County, the agency announced Sept. 23.

About 245 piles and 18 tons of debris will be removed from eight sites located along the eastern Kitsap Peninsula shoreline. The sites are:

— Norwegian Point Park
— Point No Point water access site
— Liberty Bay
— Sandy Hook
— Old Mill Park
— Port of Silverdale
— Port of Tracyton
— Bolin Point

This clean-up is part of a larger DNR effort throughout Puget Sound to remove creosote-treated debris from the state’s marine and estuarine waters. Projects include removing debris that washes onto area beaches, lagoons, and estuaries, as well as removing structures and pilings that are no longer functional.

DNR has contracted Blackwater Marine of Kirkland to remove and dispose of the Kitsap County pilings and debris. The project is anticipated to take about one month. Work will begin at the northern Point No Point site, move to Norwegian Point Park, and then continue south. The project is expected to begin Sept. 29 and continue through Nov. 7. Schedule updates can be found at http://tinyurl.com/dnr-creosote.

As steward of the 2.6 million acres of state aquatic lands, DNR manages the bedlands under Puget Sound and the coast, many of Washington’s beaches, and natural lakes and navigable rivers. DNR manages these lands not only to facilitate navigation, commerce, and public access, but also to ensure protection of aquatic habitat. State-owned aquatic lands include:

—About 68,100 acres of state-owned tidelands, or 106 square miles.
— 90,000 acres of harbor areas.
— All submerged marine lands below extreme low tide — that’s 3,430 square miles of bedlands under navigable waters, as well as freshwater shorelands and bedlands.