Proposed homeless site contaminated

In a letter to Mayor Ed Murray, Jeff Thompson of the Interbay Neighborhood Association and Eugene Wasserman of the North Seattle Industrial Association, implore his honor to ?defer? a decision by the city to select the City Light Interbay site at 3234 17th Avenue West as the new location for a homeless tent encampment because of contamination by pollutants. Because of historic dumping of industrial waste, the letter states, sometimes as much as the amount in a 55-gallon drum, the soil on the property is probably contaminated with trichloroethylene, or TCE, which the EPA lists as a known carcinogen. This contamination was revealed in a report requested by City Light itself and conducted via environmental testing.
The letter goes on to request more testing by the city to take ?every step possible to ensure that disturbing this potentially contaminated land will not threaten (campers?) safety….? Also, they plead with the city to suspend all work ?until a proper investigation of this contamination has concluded.? Additionally the letter accuses the city of not being thorough, that they ?selected this site without even an investigation sufficient to reveal this contamination?,? and that it ?calls into question whether City officials can adequately investigate to protect…residents? health and safety.?
The letter ends with the threat of court action if the city proceeds without taking measures to ensure the safety of all citizens. It says, in part, ?we will have no choice but to exercise all available legal rights to challenge the issuance of the permit.?
Leave your comments for Mayor Ed Murray by calling 206-684-4000.