In the heart of Seattle lies a waterway of historical significance, the Duwamish River. Once a thriving ecosystem and a crucial resource for the indigenous people of the region, the Duwamish River has suffered decades of industrial pollution. The Port of Seattle and Boeing are on the hook for cleaning up the Duwamish which are reportedly accusing each other of failing to pay their fair shares for the cleanup.
Continued support from local, state, and federal governments many feel is essential for sustained progress in cleaning up the Duwamish. Boeing is reportedly deep in negotiations over how to split the cost with other leading landowners on the river: the city, adjoining King County and the Port of Seattle.
With EPA oversight, the three government agencies and Boeing agreed to equally pay for testing the river water, surveying the contamination, and planning the cleanup. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated the Lower Duwamish Waterway as a Superfund site in 2001, acknowledging the need for comprehensive cleanup. The government entities and Boeing planned to eventually redistribute the costs based on responsibility for pollution, a canon of Superfund law known as the “polluters pay” principle.
All parties agreed to keep talks secret. However, Boeing said in a statement that it invested $115 million on an early cleanup project. It is reported that Boeing completed a two-year cleanup that turned five acres of industrial waterfront into a wetland habitat with native plants and woody debris. While significant progress has been made, the journey to fully restore the Duwamish River is ongoing. Challenges such as funding, regulatory hurdles, and the complexity of pollution cleanup continue to be addressed.
There are court papers accusing Boeing of trying to get around paying its fair share of the cleanup. The price for the cleanup as stated by the port could top $1 billion. This amount is more than double previous estimates made to the public. The cost stated is around $340 million.
