The Georgia-Pacific Mill Site in Fort Bragg

In 2002, the 420 acre lumber mill in Fort Bragg, California shut down. Home to the country’s second-largest redwood mill for over a century, the mill was a major employer for generations and part of the culture of the blue-collar north coast town.

The mill, owned by Georgia-Pacific, took up a space roughly half the size of Central Park, between downtown Fort Bragg and the Pacific Ocean. Among several toxic hot spots discovered there were five plots of soil with high levels of dioxin that Georgia-Pacific says were fly ash piles from 2001-2002, when the mill burned wood from Bay Area landfills to create power and sell it to Pacific Gas & Electric. Redwood bark was sprayed with PCB oil so that it would burn in the power house. The result was the creation of the most toxic chemical known to science, large molecule dioxin. Not only is large molecule dioxin known to cause cancer and other serious conditions, it can damage living organisms, including humans, on the level of their DNA.

Since the mill closed, the city of Fort Bragg has been working with the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to clean-up the dioxin-contaminated coastline. To date, thousands of truck loads of contaminated soil have been hauled off to a toxic waste dump 200 miles away. Other polluted acreage has been bio-remediated in place.  By the end of this year, the two halves of the Noyo headlands coastal trail that have been built on the former mill site, will finally be linked together, allowing Fort Bragg to leave behind its reputation as a coastal town without a coast.

The remediation process has been challenging, due to opposition from Georgia-Pacific and an active vocal community that has demanded a thorough clean-up every step of the way. Now, after 15 years of effort, the clean-up is reaching an end. There is however, one last piece that needs to be remediated: the Mill Pond. This pond was the recipient of a plethora of hazardous materials including transformers, batteries, and chemicals. Testing by DTSC shows unsafe levels of dioxins and PCBs, as well as other toxins in the pond. Community members are concerned because the pond is surrounded by a wetlands area and is within close proximity to the ocean. If a tsunami or earthquake should occur, the sludge in the pond could be released into coastal waters, contaminating marine life including species that are valuable to the fishing industry.

The citizens of Fort Bragg have been adamant that the city council and DTSC require the mill pond to be cleaned one hundred percent. The idea of having a coastal trail with a huge pond fenced off and signs reading “Danger: Hazardous Toxins. Stay Out,” is not acceptable to the community. A healthy community is one that adopts a standard of stewardship and takes responsibility to have a clean safe environment now and for future generations to come. Georgia-Pacific Corporation  believes the mill pond should be left as is, which has put pressure on the Fort Bragg City council. Despite the opposition from Georgia-Pacific, on November 27, 2017, with support from the community, council members voted in a landmark decision to adopt the following resolution regarding the mill pond:

RESOLUTION OF THE FORT BRAGG CITY COUNCIL
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CITIZENS OF THE NORTH COAST, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE

            WHEREAS, Fort Bragg, California is a beautiful coastal destination community that is focused upon health and well-being with a vision to develop a coastal trail on the former mill site that is bringing thousands of new people to our community; and

            WHEREAS, the long term well-being of our region is entirely dependent upon a healthy ocean and natural landscape, requiring protection of our unique Fort Bragg coastal resources and offering unique opportunities through restoration of the coastal wetlands; and

            WHEREAS, the final phase of the mill site cleanup is underway, and the mill pond and associated wetlands contain toxic contamination that may be harmful to the health and well-being of humans and wildlife both on the land and in the ocean; and

            WHEREAS, plans for wetlands restoration has been part of the community planning in conjunction with cleanup decision making process because monies to achieve the best restoration for the former mill site are more available while this process is underway, working collaboratively with the City of Fort Bragg for the best outcome on the Headlands; and

            WHEREAS, the mill pond is vulnerable to earthquake, tsunami and sea level rise and is in the historic pathway of Maple Creek, and the restoration effort; and

            WHEREAS, the need for climate change adaptation in every coastal community is real and urgent; and

            NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Fort Bragg does hereby resolve that:             

1. The restoration of all the wetland areas on the mill site be given a strong and renewed priority by decision-makers; and
2. The community would like to see the mill pond dismantled and thoroughly cleaned of toxic contamination or safely and permanently capped with meadowland; and
3. Plans for a more natural wetlands system restoration become the priority, and include planning for lowland tidal marshes, possibly upland marshes, and the daylighting of Maple and Alder Creeks; and
4. Every effort to implement a sound environmental solution to the remediation will be pursued in a timely fashion.

This resolution is extremely important because it speaks to the wellness of the community at large, from both environmental and social perspectives. The City Council’s decision to value community well-being is a testimony to the fact that individuals taking right action from a place of deep responsibility is essential to sustaining the health of our county.

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Thaïs Mazur, Ph.D., is a leader in the field of social change and building healthy communities. A resident of the Mendocino coast for 17 years, she co-founded Mind Body Medicine Mendocino as well as North Coast Action, a citizens group dedicated to the clean-up of toxic soil on the former Georgia Pacific mill site in Fort Bragg. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Science and Integrative Medicine, and for the past two decades has directed social and environmental justice projects locally, nationally, and internationally.