For a century, we have straightened, poisoned, dug, soiled, filled and recontaminated the , the freshwater corridor that transformed Seattle into a major port city.

We buried old trucks and tossed in piles of oil-soaked tires. We dumped carcinogenic lubricants and coolants down drains and let solvents seep deep into its muddy bottom.

But on Tuesday — after 14 years of research and planning — the federal government unveiled a final $342 million cleanup plan that officials insist should rid the beleaguered waterway of 90 percent of its pollution.

The full effort will take nearly two decades, with costs borne by Boeing, King County, and the city of Seattle and the Port of Seattle.

Excerpt from Craig Welch, Seattle Times.