EVERETT — Perhaps the biggest surprise in a recent study of pollution in Puget Sound and other waterways was the amount of toxic material from wood soaked with creosote, a state official said.

The Department of Natural Resources first developed and began a restoration program on aquatic lands in 2002, with creosote removal as a focus. This program has been so successful that the governor ...

Its Latin name is larrea tridentata. It’s also known as chaparral, greasewood and, hard to believe, hediondilla, which in Spanish means “stinky one.” No matter what you call it, creosote is undeniably ...