The majority of the former Freshwater Tissue property, a long-time Humboldt Bay landmark also commonly known as the Samoa pulp mill site, is now Redwood Marine Terminal 2 (RMT 2). The District purchased 72-acres of the industrial site in August of 2013 for $1. An adjacent 17 acres is also being purchased, making the entire District-owned complex 89 acres. As an abandoned site, the remaining pulp liquors and other contaminants represented an enormous hazard to Bay health. The District immediately engaged EPA in cleanup.

The purchase provides land and public dock access, revitalizes vacant industrial space, and the cleanup ensures protection of the Bay’s natural resources along with the industries that depend on them.

With a vision to repurpose the area into a National Marine Research and Innovation Park, the facility has an array of assets to take advantage of, including 250,000 square feet of warehouse space, a 30 million-gallons-per-day water clarification system, a mile and a half of ocean outfall line, deep water access and copious amounts of water available — in the ballpark of 60 million gallons per day.

The District-facilitated EPA cleanup included Phase 1 which removed 3 million gallons of acids and pulping liquors then transported them for reuse in Longview, Washington. Phase 2 removed 30 steel and plastic tanks and 10,000 tons of caustic sludge. Phase 3 will remove the smoke stack and tile tanks, and phase 4 will clean up all 30,000 tons of demolition debris. 

With phases 1 and 2 done, new tenants have already begun to move in. Adding some improvements of their own, Taylor Mariculture makes use of the existing industrial infrastructure to grow clam and oyster seeds. Humboldt County, in cooperation with the District, has received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to engineer the reuse of the water and wastewater facilities in order to plan for upgrades.

With the clean-up process on track and renovations underway, Redwood Marine Terminal 2 is poised to help bring Humboldt’s working waterfront into a new era. 

News Release: https://epa.gov/newsreleases/us-epa-announces-300000-additional-cleanup-reuse-effort-californias-humboldt-bay-harbor
Tweet: https://twitter.com/EPAregion9/status/1271125701739950081

National Marine Research and Innovation Park

Berths:	One
Length:	1,170'
Dock Height:	17' above MLLW
Depth Alongside:	38' below MLLW
Fresh Water:	Yes
Industrial Water:	Yes, up to 30 million gallons/day
Cargo Handling Equipment:	None
Storage Space:	Yes
Warehouse Space:	130,000 square feet
Shop and Office Space:	70,000 square feet
Land Distance to Eureka:	3.9 Miles 6.8 Miles
Operator:	Humboldt Bay Harbor District
Other:	89 acres including 20 acres of tarmac 60 kv substation and 23 MG power boiler 1.5-mile ocean outfall pipe

Redwood Marine Terminal Berth 2
P.O. Box 1030
Eureka, CA 95502 

Telephone: (707) 834-4939
Facsimile: (707) 443-0800
E-mail:  tpetrusha@humboldtbay.org