The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expects investigation of the Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor Superfund Site to begin July 31 and continue through October.

It then expects to enter a very active construction period. Cleanup actions are needed in the soil and groundwater at the former Wyckoff wood treatment facility and in the adjacent beach sediments.

Crews will do some of this work from the water on barges, and some during low tides on the beach. Most work will occur on closed portions of the beaches surrounding the site. The portions of the beach that are safe for recreational use will remain open to the public with limited access during sampling operations.

Cleanup investigations will support ongoing construction design for additional work at the site. Through the fall, residents will see pre-design investigation activities at the former Wyckoff facility at the mouth of Eagle Harbor. The activities will include porewater sampling, surface and subsurface sediment sampling, bathymetry and LiDAR surveys, a baseline eelgrass survey, geotechnical drilling and cap stability measurements.

The EPA website says this became a Superfund site in 1987 when extensive contamination of soils, groundwater and sediment on the bottom of Eagle Harbor were revealed. Cleanup has taken place so that West Harbor is functioning as designed. But more needs to be done in soil and groundwater and adjacent beach sediments.

Replacing the metal sheet wall around the perimeter is part of the project, along with dredging and capping contaminated beach sediments. Dredged areas will be covered with oil-absorbing material and disposed of in offsite landfills. Excavated areas will be filled with clean sand to match the surrounding beach.

Fixes will be done in two phases over eight to 10 years, with it being finished by 2032.

The state Department of Ecology began operating a groundwater extraction and treatment system there in 2012. Wells pump contaminated groundwater from the upper aquifer. That prevents the drinking water below from becoming contaminated.

For details email EPA remedial project manager Bernadette Wright at wright.bernadette@epa.gov or phone 206-771-3106.