Frequently Asked Questions
Neighborhood Concerns
Now that my yard has been cleaned in phase 1 of the City’s cleanup effort, is it safe for gardening, pets, kids, etc?
The residential yards cleanup met the EPA’s requirements, thus restoring this portion of the T-117 site to unrestricted land use without the need for further remediation, long-term monitoring, or institutional controls.
You can read more about the completed Residential Yards stage of the City’s cleanup project, as well as get information about specific properties targeted during the phase, on the project’s website under the Residential Yards Completion Report (Nov 2013) entry.
Is it safe to let our kids play on the beaches in the Duwamish?
The Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund investigation collected data from six publicly accessible beaches in January 2010;
initial results of the sampling show no health concerns for using these beaches.
If my yard was selected for cleanup, how will it impact my property’s value?
Property values are most appropriately discussed with local authorities knowledgeable about the local economy and other local conditions that may influence property values. However, based on past cleanups, EPA believes that a Superfund cleanup has an overall beneficial impact on the community, including rebounding property values. Please note that banks are prohibited by law from redlining a property based on the presence of a contamination.
