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Department of Ecology News Release - Aug. 5, 2003
03-156
OLYMPIA - Over the past two years, more than two dozen toxic sites were cleaned up under the Department of Ecology's "Clean Sites Initiative," freeing them up for new economic uses.
Using a one-time appropriation of $11 million from the State Toxics Control Account, the department (Ecology) managed the transformation of contaminated sites that otherwise might not have been cleaned up. The majority of the sites were "orphaned," with no responsible parties to be found and no other financial resources to pay for cleanup.
Typical cleanups are overseen by Ecology but paid for by the liable property owners. Under the Clean Sites Initiative, Ecology not only oversaw the work, but paid for it, too.
"The largest impediments to orphan sites are the contamination itself and the fact that no one claims them," said Jim Pendowski, who manages Ecology's toxics-cleanup program. "The funding made it possible for Ecology to take responsibility and turn liability sites into assets for their communities."
Ecology originally expected to clean up 15 sites with the special appropriation, but managed to stretch it to 25.
"We got more done with the money than we thought we would, and the beneficiaries are the people who live in the areas we served," said Pendowski. "We would have done more, but we ran out of time."
Pendowski credits the successful use of the special funds to efficient planning and the ability to make constant adjustments to the cleanup goals and project expenditures. Project managers at Ecology asked what they could get done, how they could work with the site owners and communities, and how they could make the most of the extra money, he said.
"If we'd rigidly stuck to plans made two years ago, we wouldn't have been able to invest in all of these communities as we did," Pendowski said. "It was important to us to take care of orphan sites, revitalize industrial areas and complete redevelopment projects in as many locations as possible."
Cleanup work occurred in all areas of the state, including Standard Chemical on Tacoma's Thea Foss waterway, the City Parcel site in Spokane, Red Shirt Mill in Twisp and the Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle.
The Clean Sites Initiative fund not only supported work on a large number of contaminated sites, but also paid for other cleanup projects as well. Ecology accelerated a new Department of Natural Resources program to remove abandoned vessels, which were a blight to state waterways. The Ecology Department also screened numerous schools and parks for contamination hazards, especially areas where young children play.
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Media contact: Caitlin Cormier, public information manager, 360-407-6149
Ecology's toxics-cleanup program 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.
