In 1994, the Washington State Legislature established the MTCA Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) to review implementation of MTCA. In their final report, the MTCA PAC recommended that Ecology take steps to more effectively address area-wide soil contamination. In early 2000, the Agencies concluded that effective, long-term solutions to area-wide soil contamination problems would require looking beyond traditional cleanup processes and agency boundaries. The Agencies identified several interconnected challenges posed by widespread low- to moderate-level soil contamination.

• Potential for exposure: Over the past 50 years, Washington's population growth has resulted in many agricultural and forested areas and other open space being converted to residential uses. Population has also increased in areas affected by emissions from metal smelters. This growth can bring more people into contact with area-wide soil contamination.
  
• Scale: The geographic scale of area-wide soil contamination is significantly greater than contamination typically addressed by State and Federal cleanup programs and encompasses many individual parcels of land.
  
• Financial Impacts: Citizens and land developers have purchased or built homes in areas with contaminated soils. This creates the potential for financial problems that may include payment for cleanup, reduction in property values, and difficulties in financing or selling homes.
  
• Lack of Information and Awareness: The Agencies lack key information needed to effectively address area-wide soil contamination; for example, information on the full scope of the problem and on stakeholder views. Similarly, many residents are unaware that soil at their homes, future homes, and/or children's schools may contain low-to-moderate levels of arsenic and lead. Consequently, they fail to take steps to control exposures.

In June 2001, the Washington Legislature appropriated $1.2 million to form and support a stakeholder Task Force to consider these issues, and the Agencies initiated the process of hiring a project support contractor and identifying potential Task Force members. The Agencies chartered the Area-Wide Soil Contamination Task Force in January 2002 to consider the special challenges posed by area-wide soil contamination and recommend a statewide strategy for meeting these challenges. In particular, the Agencies asked the Task Force to provide findings and recommendations on four sets of questions:

• What is currently known about the nature and extent of arsenic and lead soil contamination in Washington State? What steps should be taken to improve our understanding of the location and magnitude of arsenic and lead soil contamination?
  
• What are technically feasible measures for addressing widespread low-to-moderate soil contamination problems? What is the full range of actions that might be considered to address widespread low-to-moderate levels of soil contamination?
  
• What changes are needed to eliminate barriers in addressing area-wide soil contamination problems? How can agencies facilitate cleanup of area-wide soil contamination problems under the current legal system?
  
• What agencies need to play a role in addressing area-wide soil contamination problems and what are possible funding sources?

Even though other contaminants may pose area-wide soil contamination problems, the Agencies asked the Task Force to focus on problems associated with arsenic and lead because of the potential widespread distribution of these contaminants and their persistence in the environment. The Agencies also identified three areas as beyond the scope of the Task Force process: 1) MTCA cleanup standards for arsenic and lead and the policies and technical methods upon which the cleanup standards are based, 2) ongoing site-specific cleanup actions, and 3) current agricultural practices. In this context, the Task Force began deliberations at its first meeting in February 2002.

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