Yesterday Seattle City Light started the remedial work to clean contaminants from the proposed transitory homeless site at 2826 NW in Ballard. Leading up to starting the work, the City sent letters to neighbors warning them to cover their gardens and limit time outside near the site because of potentially harmful dust.

In July the Ballard News-Tribune reported that Seattle City Light discovered the site to be contaminated with a pesticide called dieldrin. They also found some heavy metals, including cadmium and lead. In addition, asbestos was found in the concrete pad on the site.

The contaminants were discovered after the city proposed the site to be the location for a homeless encampment. The Ballard site is one of three in the city and was the only site to be contaminated.

According so Seattle City Light, testing old substation sites before they are used for different purposes is a standard practice.

The clean up is expected to take one week and will cost around $145,500. The remedial work includes removing 18 inches of soil from the site. It also included cutting down a healthy Korean Ashe, which SLC removed last week.

"The fact that City Light is moving ahead fast and furiously with the site remediation certainly conveys to the public that they are moving full steam ahead with the Market Street site location," said, Mike Stewart, Executive Director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. "And, unfortunately, City Light’s aggressive efforts are happening despite our ongoing conversations with the City to find a more appropriate site location."

The work has started before Office of the Mayor’s public meeting scheduled for tomorrow night (August 12). City officials are expected to discuss the vetting process for the selection of the site and hear public comment. The meeting will be held at the Leif Erikson Hall (2245 NW 57th St.) at 6:30 p.m.

Marty McOmber, organizer of Speak Up Ballard -- a group that started a petition asking the city to hold public meetings before deciding on an encampment location -- is surprised the city is moving forward before the public meeting.

“Why not wait until they have at least held the first meeting? It only adds to the city's credibility problem caused by not engaging the neighborhood in the first place. It also makes you wonder if there is any coordination taking place at all between departments in city hall on this issue,” said McOmber.

“I think the city needs to pause and have a conversation with the neighborhood about how to find a more appropriate location in Ballard. Rushing forward with remediation that requires neighbors and business owners to cover their edible plants in the middle of summer makes no sense.”

The Ballard News-Tribune asked the Mayor's Office why the remediation started before time for public comment but has not yet received a response.