How Toxic is the Fort Bragg Mill Site?
A comprehensive review of existing records of testing and remediation reveals data gaps
Fort Bragg residents packed Town Hall on Thursday evening to confront a question that has lingered for decades: How toxic is the former Georgia-Pacific mill site? Steffany Aguilar, a technical consultant hired by the community-led Project HERE, presented a comprehensive review of the 420-acre property’s environmental history, identifying critical “data gaps” and revealing new findings from a citizen science study on local marine life.
While much of the site has been granted “No Further Action” status by regulators, Aguilar warned that the picture remains incomplete. “My main goal is ... to provide education on the site,” Aguilar told the crowd, noting that her work was funded by a technical assistance grant (TAG) from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) specifically to benefit the public rather than the landowner or regulators.
A century of contamination
The mill site operated from 1885 until 2002, a period spanning over a century with little to no environmental regulation for the first 90 years. Aguilar detailed how decades of industrial use—including sawmills, a power plant, and wastewater ponds—left behind a legacy of petroleum, heavy metals like lead and arsenic, and “forever chemicals” such as dioxins and PCBs.
She said these contaminants are particularly “sticky,” meaning they cling to soil and sediment rather than breaking down in water. In humans, the half-life of dioxins can range from 7 to 15 years, while in oxygen-deprived sediments, they can persist for nearly a century.
Cleanup vs. restriction
Aguilar clarified what “cleanup” actually looks like at the site. While over 4,000 tons of contaminated soil have been excavated and hauled away, most of the site is managed through Land Use Covenants (LUCs). These legal restrictions stay with the property deed and limit how the land can be used.
For example, Operational Unit A—where the coastal trail is located—is restricted to recreational use only. Aguilar noted that “unrestricted use” (soil clean enough for any purpose, including gardening) is often not feasible for industrial sites of this scale. In some areas, groundwater remains contaminated, meaning any future gardening would likely have to be done in containers to prevent roots from reaching toxic plumes.
Critical data gaps
A significant portion of the presentation focused on what is not known. Aguilar identified several “data gaps,” including:
Dam Stability: The dam at Pond 8, constructed in 1885, may undergo “large deformations” during a major earthquake.
Testing Equipment: The equipment used in 2007 was not sensitive enough to detect low concentrations of toxins. These “non-detects” were recorded as zero, which Aguilar argued was misleading.
Averaging” of Hotspots in Pond 8: During the Town Hall, it was noted that findings from highly toxic “hotspots” in Pond 8 (Operational Unit E) were averaged with samples from cleaner areas. This statistical averaging may have resulted in an overall toxicity level that appears lower than the actual risk posed by the most contaminated sections of the pond.
Climate Risks: Future sea level rise and tsunami hazards could potentially reach contaminated areas like Operational Unit E which remains the last unit without a final cleanup certification.
Offshore Sediment Sampling Limitations: A major gap was identified in the data used to determine if toxins had migrated into the ocean. Only one offshore sediment sampling event has occurred, back in 2007
Historical Limits: Because the site is so old, there are no records or living witnesses for the first several decades of operation, leaving potential “hotspots” uninvestigated.
Mussels show elevated toxin levels
Perhaps the most striking part of the evening were the results of “citizen science” testing conducted on local mussels. Project HERE collected mussels from Soldier Bay, adjacent to the mill site, and compared them to a reference point at Bell Point, 11 miles north.
The results showed that mussels near the mill site contained three to four times the concentration of PCBs found at the reference site. Some samples exceeded EPA screening levels for monthly fish consumption. While Aguilar acknowledged that these findings do not prove the mill site is the sole source of the toxins—noting the proximity of the Noyo Harbor—the data suggests that toxins are indeed accumulating in the local food chain through biomagnification.
The most dangerous part
Mayor Jason Godeke and Councilmember Lindy Peters attended the talk. Peters, especially, engaged the consultant with questions and observations. Peters acknowledged that the remediation work done so far has produced “good results” in certain areas. But he also noted the “irony” that the community had once dreamed of turning the specific area of Pond 8 into a “gem” of a park with wildlife, only to discover it is likely the most dangerous part of the site.
For those wishing to see the site firsthand, a public site walk is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m., beginning at the Alder Street entrance to the coastal trail.