The Port Gardner Assessment Area includes the lower Snohomish River, Everett Waterfront, East Waterway, and a portion of Possession Sound near Everett, Washington. This area serves a commercial shipping industry and contains many facilities and both private and municipal wastewater outfalls. Numerous industrial operations have been identified as sources of contamination to Port Gardner. Cleanup actions in Port Gardner are being addressed by Ecology. The Lower Snohomish River is a heavily traveled and industrialized section of the Snohomish River adjacent to Everett, Washington. The primary depositional area of the Snohomish River system is Port Gardner Bay which contains an industrialized area around the city of Everett, Washington. The Snohomish River and its watershed originates in the Washington Cascade Range and drains approximately 1,856 square miles of the western Cascades and is the second largest river basin surrounding Puget Sound. The Everett Waterfront is more commercialized; however some shipping activities and industry remain. Along the north end, several sites currently under cleanup orders have been used for lumber and mill operations since the last century. The middle portion of the waterfront is more commercialized with the Port of Everett Marinas and commercial development areas. Several large marinas, boat ramps, and a fuel dock are currently active along the Everett waterfront. Shipbuilding, ship repair, and associated boat maintenance businesses have been located in the Everett Waterfront. Some of these businesses are currently operating, while others have moved or closed and are in the process of remediating contamination at their sites. Currently the bulk of Everett’s industrial presence is located along the East Waterway. The East Waterway is historically and currently the most industrialized area within Port Gardner and was created to facilitate Everett waterfront shipping and the dredged material was used to create Jetty Island. The East Waterway was used for repair and outfitting of ships and used extensively for log rafting and the transportation of timber products. Currently, the East Waterway is used primarily for deep water shipping. Two pulp and paper mills have operated for decades in or near East Waterway, including historical untreated discharges directly into the Waterway. There are also several stormwater outfalls that discharge into East Waterway.