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News Releases from Region 10

EPA, Navy, Suquamish Tribe, State and Kitsap County to Celebrate Bremerton Landfill–Gorst Creek Cleanup and Restoration

04/16/2018
Contact Information: 
Suzanne Skadowski (skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov )
206-553-2160

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Navy, Suquamish Tribe, and state and county partners will host an event to celebrate the completion of an extensive multi-year cleanup and restoration of Bremerton Landfill-Gorst Creek site, April 2018

U.S. EPA, U.S. Navy, Suquamish Tribe, State, and Kitsap County to Celebrate Bremerton LandfillGorst Creek Cleanup and Restoration

Release Date:  April 16, 2018

Contacts:   Suzanne Skadowski, EPA, 206-553-2160 desk, 206-900-3309 cell, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov  

         April Leigh, Suquamish Tribe, 360-394-7102 desk, 360-633-5015 cell, aleigh@suquamish.nsn.us  

Bremerton LandfillGorst Creek Cleanup and Restoration Celebration

On Thursday, April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Navy, Suquamish Tribe, and state and county partners will host an event to celebrate the completion of an extensive multi-year cleanup and restoration of the Bremerton Landfill—Gorst Creek cleanup site. The site is located on Highway 3, near Port Orchard, Washington, five miles upstream of Sinclair Inlet and Puget Sound.

Date, Time:  April 19, 2018, 1:00-2:00 PM

Location:  4275 State Hwy 3 SW, Port Orchard, WA (map)

Event:  Outdoor event commemorating the Bremerton Landfill-Gorst Creek cleanup and restoration. (Website)  Event includes tour and commemorative tree planting. **Sturdy shoes required**

Speakers:  U.S. EPA Deputy Regional Administrator Michelle Pirzadeh, Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman, U.S. Navy Region NW Commander Rear Admiral Gary Mayes, WDFW Fish Passage Manager Tom Jameson, Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, and Kitsap Public Health District Manager Jan Brower.

Background: In a 2016 settlement with the EPA, the Navy agreed to fund the removal and cleanup of the landfill and restoration of Gorst Creek, at an estimated cost of nearly $30 million. The 1950s-era landfill collected auto wrecking and demolition debris, household and industrial trash, and accepted waste from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Gorst Creek was diverted beneath the landfill into a culvert that was eventually crushed as the garbage piled up over 80 feet deep, blocking fish passage to upstream habitat. The cleanup and stream restoration were planned in coordination with the Navy, the Suquamish Tribe, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Department of Transportation, Kitsap Health District and Kitsap County.