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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 1996
96-162
CONTACT:
Mark Peterschmidt (509) 454-7840
Rick Roeder (509) 454-7837
Denise Clifford (360) 407-6160, pager: (360) 534-8589
Ecology Proposes Settlement For Areawide Cleanup In Yakima
Olympia, WA -- The Washington State Department of Ecology and more than 100 businesses and municipalities have reached settlement agreements that will further areawide environmental investigation and cleanup work in Yakima and Union Gap. The agreements were filed as proposed consent decrees in federal court today and are available for public review and comment.
"These agreements offer a positive way to settle costs with parties liable for contamination: they get a fair way to settle costs up front -- removing the cloud of liability from their business -- and we get assurance that the cleanup work will move forward" said Tony Grover, manager of the Toxics Cleanup Program in Ecology's Central Regional Office.
Each party settling will pay into a trust fund that the Department of Ecology will use to better determine the location of the groundwater, evaluate cleanup options, and ultimately take cleanup actions to safeguard water supplies.
The 101 businesses and municipalities settling with the Department of Ecology represent more than half of the parties who sent carbon containing perchloroethylene (PCE) to Cameron-
Yakima, Inc., a carbon recycling firm. PCE is a common solvent used for commercial and industrial practices. Carbon containing PCE is in soil at Cameron-Yakima, Inc. and is considered a source for groundwater contamination in the Yakima Railroad Area. The Yakima Railroad Area is about six square miles in size and includes parts of the cities of Yakima and Union Gap.
"The amount of money each party pays to the trust fund is based on the amount of contaminated carbon they shipped to Cameron-Yakima, Inc. and the estimated costs to protect Yakima residents and the environment," said Rick Roeder, Ecology's site manager for the Yakima Railroad Area.
The basic cost of the settlement is $4.95 for each pound of carbon containing PCE shipped. Roeder said that in the first round of settlements, the parties will pay less because they have taken a proactive, cooperative approach to solving the problem of PCE contamination in the Yakima Railroad Area. Additionally, some parties are contributing in other ways -- like expanding municipal water connections and installing groundwater monitoring wells. Roeder said that Ecology will offer settlement agreements to the remaining liable parties early next year.
"We have been taking an areawide approach to clean up the PCE contamination in Yakima," Roeder said. "Our first step was to get Yakima Railroad Area residents on a clean water supply. Now, residents in 1200 homes are connected to the city's water supply. With these agreements we can get the remaining residents hooked up and focus the rest of our efforts on finding the best remedy for cleaning up the area." The proposed consent decrees also provide for city water hookups to homes on 9th Avenue between Mead and Washington Avenue.
Ecology would like the public to review and comment on the proposed settlement agreements from December 20, 1996, through January 21, 1997. On January 8, 1996, at 7:00 p.m., Ecology staff will host a public meeting for those interested to discuss the agreements and answer questions. The meeting will be at Ecology's Central Regional Office, 15 West Yakima Avenue, Suite 200, Yakima.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
