The Port of Tacoma Commission approved a $12.5 million settlement Nov. 9 with Weyerhaeuser Company, allowing the Port to move ahead with its plans to widen the Blair Waterway for safe navigation of marine terminal traffic.
Weyerhaeuser has operated a 25-acre Wood Chip Facility, located on the Blair Waterway, since 1973. Weyerhaeuser owns facility improvements and leases the land from the Port. The existing lease expires in 2017.

The settlement is compensation for the value of Weyerhaeuser’s leasehold interest remaining over the 12 years on the lease. The agreement calls for a $12.5 million payment to Weyerhaeuser, which will, in turn, vacate the facility by May 31, 2006.

The Wood Chip Facility is located on a narrow portion of the waterway. In the interest of navigational safety, the Port will begin widening the waterway in July 2006. The Blair Waterway has a uniform depth of 51 feet – deep enough for the world’s largest containerships.

“As a customer-focused organization, this was a difficult decision for the Port,” said Port of Tacoma Executive Director Timothy J. Farrell. “Ships in international trade have been growing dramatically, and our waterways must grow along with them to assure public safety. We had to weigh the interests of our long-term customer, Weyerhaeuser, against those of navigational safety. I believe we’ve reached an equitable reconciliation of those interests.”

In the late 1960s, the Blair Waterway was extended nearly two miles to create additional terminal areas and backup land for warehousing and distribution centers. At the time, a waterway width of 350 feet was more than sufficient to handle the cargo ships of the time, which were typically 50 to 60 feet wide. Container ships currently using the Blair Waterway are more than 130 feet wide. Today, the waterway is used by 150 auto ships and 450 container ships each year.

Before the Port’s current widening project, the Blair Waterway was 520 feet wide at the location of the Wood Chip Facility. For navigational safety, Port officials say it needs to be widened to 850 feet, requiring that land now occupied by the Wood Chip Facility be removed.

The need to widen the Blair Waterway was first identified by the Port in 1991 as part of a long-range land use study.