Jan 2026

R.G. Haley and Cornwall Avenue Landfill Site Cleanup

​This project will clean up two contaminated sites on the Bellingham Bay waterfront located at the south end of Cornwall Avenue. These sites were once the locations of a variety of industrial operations, including a wood treatment facility (R.G. Haley) and municipal waste landfill (Cornwall Avenue Landfill). This extensive and long-awaited environmental cleanup project is expected to take three years to complete. Site cleanup will take place at the same time as the first phase of a future waterfront park called Salish Landing Park, which will ultimately transform the waterfront by turning a historic eyesore into a beautiful and accessible public park.

Map showing the RG Haley and Cornwall Landfill cleanup areas on the Bellingham waterfront at the south end of Cornwall Avenue.
Project vicinity map

Project Status – Fall 2026

Construction officially kicked off in January 2026 and is expected to take approximately three years.

Work continues at the site, including:

  • Installing a temporary cofferdam at the RG Haley site to allow for deeper excavations in the area. Cofferdams are used to hold back water and create a dry worksite. Water inside the cofferdam is pumped out to allow workers to access a submerged area.
  • Armoring the shoreline by placing rocks along the shoreline to protect it from erosion and waves. This work helps stabilize slopes.
  • Completing in-water work at the Cornwall Avenue site during the in-water work window, which opened in early August and closes mid-February. This window of time is when work below the water’s surface is allowed by regulatory agencies to protect fish and other marine life. A barge is used for some of this work. In-water work activities include:
    • Installing a sediment cap using clean layers of gravel, cobble, and gravelly sand. This provides protective layers over contaminated sediment while also serving as habitat for intertidal organisms.
    • Placing specially sized sand and gravel designed to support eelgrass growth.
    • Placing large stones along the shoreline to protect against erosion.

Night Work

We try to accomplish as much construction during standard working hours as possible, but some project components are dependent on the tides and must be done during low tide. This can sometimes happen outside of standard working hours, such as on weekends or in the evenings. Between October 2026 and January 2027, there may be additional night work during the following low tide windows (excluding holidays):

  • October 25 – November 1
  • November 22-29
  • December 20-27
  • January 19-24

Additional Construction Impacts

  • Glass Beach closure: Glass Beach and the adjacent gravel parking lot are not accessible during project construction because they are part of the cleanup effort and will ultimately become part of the new Salish Landing Park.
  • Noise and vehicles: There is extra noise and vehicles in the area during construction work.

Construction Photos

Interactive 360° Photo

The photo below is an interactive 360° aerial image of the construction site from April 2026. Use your mouse to change the angle or zoom in and out of the photo.

More Information

Historic site activities

The City owns parts of two neighboring Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) cleanup sites on the Bellingham Bay waterfront, at the south end of Cornwall Avenue. These sites are called the R.G. Haley site and Cornwall Avenue Landfill site. In the past, industrial activities at both locations caused pollution in the soil, groundwater, and sediment.

The R.G. Haley site used to be the location of a wood treatment facility that operated until 1985. Before that, the area was used for lumber, coal, and wharf operations. The site covers about 6 acres of land and 60 acres of water.

The Cornwall Avenue Landfill site was the City’s landfill from 1954 to 1965. It was also used for sawmill operations and storing logs. This site include about 13 acres of land and 3.5 acres of water.

Planned cleanup work

Cleanup work at both sites will include:

  • On land: regrading the ground, installing a protective plastic liner (called an LLDPE cap) under a layer of soil, and planting vegetation to help restore the area
  • Along the shoreline: regrading the beach, creating small beach areas (called “pocket beaches”), adding rock structures to prevent erosion, and building a rock barrier to protect against waves
  • In the water: Adding a drainage layer, restoring eelgrass, and improving habitat for forage fish

For more project details, including site cleanup plans and design reports, visit the Washington State Department of Ecology project webpages for these two sites:

Salish Landing Park

The effort to clean up the two contaminated sites will happen at the same time as the first phase of the new Salish Landing Park. This first phase includes the construction of a small parking area, trails, plantings, and utilities in preparation for future phases. Phase 1 of the park includes only those items that are necessary to construct with the cleanup so we can avoid interacting with the capped contaminated materials in the future.

The City selected the contractor IMCO General Construction to construct this project. They were the responsible bidder who submitted the lowest bid on the project for a total of $48,779,160.34. Bellingham City Council awarded the project to IMCO at their September 15 meeting.

Funding sources:

  • Washington State Department of Ecology Remedial Action Grants
  • Environmental Remediation Fund (136)
  • Public Works Board Loan
  • Greenways Fund (173)
  • Port of Bellingham
  • Bonds


Contact

General project questions: AskPW@cob.org

Media inquiries: Email pwmedia@cob.org

Project Engineer
Craig Mueller, P.E.
Phone: (360) 778-7922
Email: camueller@cob.org

Participating Departments

Affected Neighborhoods

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