Progress on toxic cleanups makes room for other sites to move up

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - September 9, 2004

04-173

Progress on toxic cleanups makes room for other sites to move up

OLYMPIA – The state Department of Ecology (Ecology) has added 33 properties to its list of contaminated sites that are targeted for cleanup and removed seven that have been cleaned up and no longer pose a health threat.

In addition, Ecology is making an unprecedented change to the hazardous-sites list and is re-ranking 60 sites that are still awaiting cleanup. The sites themselves have not gotten more contaminated, but they are rising on the priority list now that higher levels of contamination have been dealt with.

“With the higher-risk sites getting cleaned up and falling off the list, we can bump up the lower-ranked sites’ place in line," said Jim Pendowski, the toxics-cleanup manager for Ecology. “Communities that have waited years for sites in their areas to make it to the top of the priority list are finally getting their wish."

The 33 newly identified sites are located in 18 counties: Benton, Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Garfield, Grays Harbor, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pierce, Skagit, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston and Yakima.

The seven sites removed from the list are located in Clark, Jefferson, King, Okanogan and Spokane counties.

“These delisted sites represent good progress," said Pendowski. “They show that once on the list doesn’t mean forever on the list. The work is getting done."

Cleanup is required at sites where the amount of toxic substances is above limits set in the state’s Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), a 1989 citizen initiative that established a broad-based program for cleaning and preventing toxic contamination.

The properties on Ecology’s ranked list of hazardous sites are graded on a scale of one to five, with a rank of one representing the highest level of concern.

The scores do not necessarily reflect the severity of the contamination, but are based on a site’s location and the potential paths through which humans and sensitive environments could be exposed to the hazardous substances. Thus, a site with a number one ranking may have less contamination or less-hazardous contaminants than lower-ranked sites, but the risk of exposure is higher and cleanup needs to happen quicker.

By changing the scores on 60 sites on the list, Ecology is refocusing efforts to have the sites cleaned up.

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.

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 hazardous-sites list is updated in February and August each year. The sites added in August 2004 include:

Benton County – Hicks Road Dump in Prosser, rank 2.
Chelan County – Lincoln Elementary School, rank 3, and Washington Elementary School, rank 3, both in Wenatchee.
Cowlitz County – Terry’s Salvage in Kelso, rank 2.
Douglas County – The Country Corner in Bridgeport, rank 5.
Franklin County – Connell Oil Inc. in Connell, rank 4.
Garfield County – Western Farm Service Inc. in Pomeroy, rank 3.
Grays Harbor County – Property at 419 First St. in Montesano, rank 1.
King County – BSB Diversified/Hexcel Corporation, rank 1, and Burdic Feed Inc., rank 5, both in Kent; Sparks Tune-Up, rank 5, and Auto Service Company, rank 5, both in Seattle; the property at 270th Avenue S.E. and S.E. 243rd Street in Maple Valley, rank 3; and Loudon Real Estate Inc., rank 5.
Kitsap County – Skirving Dump in Bremerton, rank 2, and the Zink Dump in Port Orchard, rank 5.
Lewis County – Tim Bowers Logging in Winlock, rank 5.
Lincoln County – Western Farm Service Inc. in Almira, rank 5.
Okanogan County – Kings Pacific Pride in Twisp, rank 3, and the property at B&O Road and Spring Coulee Road in Okanogan, rank 5.
Pierce County – The properties at 1535 4th Avenue N.W. and 1609 4th Avenue N.W., both in Puyallup and both rank 1, and the G-P Gypsum Corp. Plant in Tacoma, rank 5.
Skagit County – Zimmerman’s Shell in La Conner, rank 3.
Spokane County – The property at 520 N. Lincoln St. in Spokane, rank 5, and Western Farm Service Inc. in Latah, rank 5.
Stevens County – Burlington Northern Sante Fe rail road in Marcus, rank 5.
Thurston County – Briggs Nursery, rank 2, and the state Department of Natural Resources property at 1111 Washington St., rank 4, both in Olympia; Maple Lane School in Centralia, rank 3; and the Puget Sound Energy substation at N. Hodgedon Street and S.E. Garfield Avenue, rank 5.
Yakima County – Blehyl Farm Service and the Fry Building, both in Sunnyside and both rank 3.

The sites taken off the list in August 2004 are:

Clark County – Circle C Landfill in Ridgefield was ranked 1.
Jefferson County – Texaco Bulk Plant in Port Townsend had been ranked 2.
King County – The former Able Pest Control site in Kenmore was ranked 2.
Okanogan County – The former Unocal service station in Omak was ranked 2, and Gebbers Farms property on P&G Road was ranked 1.
Spokane County –Spokane Custom Wood Treating in Spokane was ranked 3, and Yellowstone Pipeline in Otis Orchards was ranked 2.

For a list of the 60 re-ranked sites, go to http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/sites.html and click on the link label “Ranked MTCA sites awaiting remedial action with changes in ranking."

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Media contact: Caitlin Cormier, public information manager, 360-407-6149

Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program – http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/cleanup.html

Hazardous-sites list - http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/mtca_gen/hazsites.html