Neighbors said it was too noisy. Now the port is booting this waterfront business

Canadian-based company ABC Recycling’s scrap metal recycling operation along the Bellingham waterfront will end this year after a decision made by the Port of Bellingham on Monday afternoon.

A motion was approved at a special meeting of the Port’s Board of Commissioners on March 25, 2024, authorizing Rob Fix, the Port’s Executive Director, to execute a Lease Termination Agreement with the company.

The Agreement ends ABC’s shipping terminal lease “on or before September 30, 2024.” The company’s office lease will end on October 31, 2024, without the opportunity for the company to renew beyond that date, according to the Agreement.

The original lease agreement was not expected to terminate until May 31, 2037.

The decision to terminate ABC Recyling’s lease agreement comes after the Port issued two letters to the company on Feb. 21 and March 11, alleging ABC committed various defaults under its original lease agreement, including:

▪ Berthing a barge in an unauthorized location in the Whatcom Waterway.

▪ Failing to comply with stormwater management requirements.

▪ Failing to maintain comprehensive general liability insurance.

▪ Allowing waste and refuse connected with scrap metal to be dropped into the Whatcom Waterway.

ABC Recycling sent several written responses to the Port disputing the defaults. Stipulations outlined in the Lease Termination Agreement prevent both the Port and ABC Recycling from taking legal action against either party “arising out of and related to the defaults.”

“We value our relationship with the Port of Bellingham,” said Andy Anthony, vice president of U.S. operations for ABC Recycling in a release about the decision. “We met with Port leadership last week and had a candid conversation about the future. We mutually agreed it would be in the best interests of both parties to terminate our lease.”

The agreement requires ABC Recycling to remove all of its “Finished Bulk Scrap” from the waterfront site by 11:59 p.m. on June 30.

“As part of the agreement, the Port will approve up to two vessel berthings to allow ABC to complete its finished bulk scrap removal by the end of June,” the release sent by ABC Recycling states. “ABC ceased receipt of finished bulk scrap as of March 6, 2024, and committed to remove all finished bulk scrap from the terminal by June 30.”

“In the event full removal of the Finished Bulk Scrap is not completed by the Scrap Removal Deadline, Lessee shall pay the Port damages of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per day or partial day that the Finished Bulk Scrap remains on the Premises beyond the Scrap Removal Deadline,” the Lease Termination Agreement states.

ABC Recycling’s waterfront scrap metal recycling operations have been a source of controversy since it began along the waterfront in 2022, restarting the first regular cargo activity at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal after a 20-year industry pause.

Over the last year and a half scrap metal has frequently been exported from the Bellingham waterfront, drawing frustration from some nearby residents about loud noise and concern from others about possible environmental impacts.

A group called Save The Waterfront was formed in opposition to the operation.

“We are relieved that the dangerous scrap metal storage pile will no longer be a challenge for Bellingham residents, the environment and the opportunities planned for at the waterfront,” said Save The Waterfront founder Scott Jones in a release after the Port meeting.

In 2023, ABC Recycling proposed to expand its Whatcom County footprint by building and operating a metal shredder and recycling facility on Marine Drive, just outside of Bellingham, gathering further community backlash.

Despite Monday’s decision to terminate ABC’s lease agreement at the waterfront, the metal shredder facility is still moving through the county’s permit process.

“We are currently working with planning and development in Whatcom County to initiate a process to develop environmental assessment documents for that project,” Anthony said in the release.

According to the release from ABC, the company is working to reassess its export bulk shipping strategy approach now that it will not have a facility in Bellingham.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Port and its leadership,” he added. “I know this was a difficult decision for both parties, but we think it’s the right decision as well.”

Mayor Kim Lund told the City Council about the Port’s vote as the council met in a committee work session Monday afternoon. Lund praised the vote and said she would be working with Port officials to attract business or industry “that’s more in alignment with our community’s expectations.”

Lund also mentioned that Bellingham joined the Whatcom County Council as a partner to examine the environmental impact of ABC Recycling’s proposed metal-shredding facility.

“We imagine that the termination of this lease will have significant impact on what that (metal shredder) looks like,” Lund told the City Council.