Clatsop officials fight to keep polluted shipyards open

ASTORIA — Clatsop County officials are asking the state Department of Environmental Quality to keep a polluted shipyard open for a few more years.

The Daily Astorian reports (http://bit.ly/1UacuSF ) that Clatsop Economic Development Resources Director Kevin Leahy says the Astoria Marine Construction Co. shipyard on the Lewis and Clark River is important to the commercial fishing industry and that a shutdown would seriously hurt the region's economy.

In a letter to the Department of Environmental Quality, Leahy asked that regulators hold off on closing the shipyard for five to 10 years.

The 90-year-old shipyard was contaminated during contracts to build vessels for the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The state was awarded cleanup oversight in 2012 and efforts to remove contaminated sediment are estimated to cost more than $2 million.

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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com