In December, I rode the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge. I thought about the bigger picture of the local environment and national politics, both historically and into the future. I looked southward and witnessed the harsh reminder of what people did to this otherwise picturesque place I call home.

The Pacific Creosoting Co. was once a creosote manufacturing plant on Bainbridge. In 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency classified the plant as the Wyckoff Eagle Harbor 60-acre Superfund Site because of 80 years worth of creosote and other toxic chemicals contaminating the surrounding sediment and waters. Creosote is a nasty chemical derived from coal that’s used for preserving wood, causing many health problems, including cancer.

Last summer, the city of Bainbridge Island expressed interest in turning that Superfund site into a public park—preserving it for conservation and recreation. Since January, concerns have grown over the Trump Administration’s EPA cuts and potential impacts on the cleanup of superfund sites nationwide. For over 30 years, the BI site had been in the cleanup process with multiple sections of focus, on land and in Eagle Harbor. There are still ongoing efforts to remove the remaining 650,000 gallons of contaminants.

Now Pritchard Park, the West Harbor Cleanup Site involved the removal of contaminated sediments and the placement of clean sediment over remaining contaminants in 1992. Still ongoing, the project involves the demolition of contaminated buildings, removal of contaminated soil, and an addition of a retaining wall to prevent further groundwater, seawater and soil contamination.

Today, as site-stabilization efforts continue and plans are made for the next decade, concerns have arisen from the city. Noise pollution and vibrations from equipment could be an issue that people who live near the site would face. However, the risk of further contamination is much greater if the site is not stabilized.

Ongoing cuts to the EPA and federal funding could exacerbate the situation. Ohio’s former prosecutor, Michael Blumenthal, said: “A second Trump term would likely focus on further deregulation. This could weaken the legal and regulatory framework underpinning Superfund site cleanups. For example, loosening groundwater and soil contamination standards might reduce remediation costs but at the potential expense of public health and environmental integrity.”

If Bainbridge’s Superfund site isn’t maintained, we could face the same consequences for our groundwater and soil. This community’s environmental and human health could be on the line. While visiting the Superfund site, former Gov. Jay Inslee said, “We not only are restoring this land for the people of Washington State, but we’re preserving the most beautiful sea in the world — the Salish Sea and Puget Sound — to keep this old creosote off our present beaches and our present water.”

Those words should serve as a wake-up call. Continuing to remediate this site will not happen overnight nor will it be easy to do so. It’s frustrating knowing that efforts may have to be put on pause when so much progress has been made. In the meantime, the city of BI, the Suquamish Tribe the EPA, and other stakeholders are working to fix humanity’s past mistakes because all have hope for a better future for BI.

I’ve spent a lot of time sitting on the filled-in sand by the Wyckoff Superfund Site, let alone practically living in it. One day, I’d like other people to enjoy this place too, just without the risk and fear of getting exposed to creosote. I’d love to stand in the new park, once an ugly reminder of industry that could now become a beautiful part of our community. For that to come true, I’d rather hear heavy machinery every day knowing that my home is getting a little safer.

Sophie Griggs is an environmental science student at Western Washington University in Bellingham.