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Department of Ecology News Release - Sept. 7, 2000
00-174
OLYMPIA – Washington's Department of Ecology (Ecology) has made 26 additions to its list of hazardous-waste sites in the state, bringing the total to 858.
The 25 newly ranked sites are located in 10 counties: Clark, King, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima. They include auto dismantling yards, recycling facilities, and properties with leaking underground-storage tanks and pipelines.
Nearly every county in Washington has one or more properties on the hazardous-sites list. Most are in Western Washington, where historically there have been more industrial and manufacturing practices.
The state's Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), passed by voters in 1988, instructs Ecology to identify hazardous-waste sites and rank them according to their level of hazard. The rankings are on a scale of one to five, with a score of one representing the highest level of concern and five the lowest. The scores are based on analysis of the primary paths through which humans and the environment could be exposed to hazardous substances at a site.
"The rankings help us prioritize where we will direct our limited money and time," said Jim Pendowski, manager of Ecology's toxics-cleanup program. "This list helps us focus on substances of highest concern that have a higher risk of affecting humans."
In addition to sites ranked on the list, there are contaminated sites across Washington that have not yet been listed. In both cases, property owners who want to speed the pace of the cleanup process may voluntarily undertake cleanups on their own.
For a small fee, Ecology staff will review the cleanup plans, monitor the project and provide the certification that is needed so businesses can get the financing they need to redevelop the property for other economic uses, said Pendowski.
"Through this system, efficient, effective environmental cleanups and resource-use can become a reality," he said.
The MTCA specifies that those responsible for polluting a site must pay for its cleanup. The state pays for cleanup only when a liable person cannot be found or when identified liable parties lack the financial resources to pay for the work.
The hazardous-sites list is updated twice a year, in February and August.
The sites added at the end of August 2000 include:
|
County |
Rank |
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Clark County |
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Pioneer Potato site |
1 |
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King County |
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Aurora Cleaning (McAbee property) |
5 |
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Bakkers Better Motors |
4 |
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Carlos Undercoating Sandblast |
4 |
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Covrox Inc. (industrial use site in Covington) |
2 |
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Midway SeaTac Auto Wrecking |
5 |
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Mike's Quality Automotive |
5 |
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Moimoi property (former residence and auto repair) |
5 |
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Niederle property (former home-based auto repair) |
5 |
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Olympian Apartments |
4 |
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Plaza One-Hour Cleaners (McAbee property) |
5 |
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Pacific County |
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Turner & Son Inc. (petroleum bulk plant) |
3 |
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Pierce County |
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Elbe Mall |
5 |
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Newman Recycling |
4 |
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Veneer Chip Transport |
4 |
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Skagit |
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Northwest Pipeline Corp - Mt. Vernon |
5 |
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Skagit Transportation, Inc. |
5 |
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Snohomish County |
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Massoud property |
4 |
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Spokane County |
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American Armored Pawn Shop |
5 |
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Yellowstone Pipeline – Otis Orchards |
2 |
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Walla Walla County |
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Schwerin Concaves – Walla Walla (chrome plater) |
2 |
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Whatcom County |
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Beacon Battery |
5 |
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Northwest Pipeline – Bellingham |
5 |
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Yakima County |
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American Red Cross – Yakima (former Lynch Motor Co.) |
5 |
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Yakima City Fire Department (underground storage tank) |
5 |
Media contact: Caitlin Cormier, public information officer,
360-407-6149;
pager, 360-971-5536
For more information: Department of Ecology Web site – http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/cleanup.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
