Find out how the port, state will clean up Blaine Harbor

After 60 years of operation, fuel sales ended at Blaine Marina in 2015 – but the tanks and pipes remain, leaking oil and diesel fuel into the water.

Residents can get a look at the cleanup operations during a public tour Wednesday led by the Port of Bellingham and the Washington State Department of Ecology.

To study the extent of the contamination, crews recently collected soil and groundwater samples near the fuel storage tanks. The plan calls for the excavation of 70 percent of the contaminated soil – 3,000 cubic yards – for treatment and disposal.

Part of the tour will also show the ongoing restoration at Blaine Harbor of more than 14 acres of eelgrass, which provides valuable habitat and is considered critical to salmon recovery efforts, said Brian Gouran, environmental director for the port, which operates the marina.

For information on the cleanup, visit https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/gsp/Sitepage.aspx?csid=63.

This story was originally published May 14, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Find out how the port, state will clean up Blaine Harbor."