Port will remove structures at Wyman’s, add aquatic habitat Posted by Joan Pringle | Oct 10, 2012 | 998 views

The storm-battered property east of Randy’s Pier 61 restaurant known as Wyman’s Marina with its dilapidated building and decrepit docks and pier will be a piece of Anacortes’ waterfront history come fall 2013.

The Port of Anacortes, which owns the property, will transform it into an aquatic habitat mitigation site in exchange for redevelopment at Pier 1 for Dakota Creek Industries. Because waters of the state were taken away as part of that project, the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring the port to create new waters.

Originally the log pocket west of Randy’s, alongside Pier 2 was to be used for the mitigation requirement since it was already listed for possible cleanup by the Washington Department of Ecology. However, after contaminates were found there, Ecology officially notified the port it was liable for an environmental cleanup at the site under the state’s Model Toxics Control Act.

“We couldn’t do mitigation until cleanup is done, which is years off,” said port consultant John Herzog.
Permitting for such a project could take up to 15 years, he said. The port is already way behind on mitigation, which was to be done when the ship basins were filled in two years ago.