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BNSF Former Maintenance and Fueling Facility, Skykomish, Washington

SITE DESCRIPTION

The former railway maintenance and fueling facility in the town of Skykomish was operated by BNSF Railway Company. Historical activities at the site included refueling and maintaining locomotives and operating an electrical substation. These activities resulted in the release of petroleum and heavy metals to the surrounding environment. BNSF is conducting a cleanup of the contamination at the site with Ecology oversight.

Here you can find historic information, documents, activities, and current events for the cleanup.

Current Cleanup Activities - July 2009

Major cleanup work has begun in town, including water bypass installation, temporary relocation and demolition of buildings, and soil excavation.  Work got under way with mobilization in May, and demolition and/or temporary move and storage of nine structures in June to prepare for excavation work.  This included relocating the Skykomish Post Office to a temporary location, demolition of the Sky River Inn and Office, and an annex to the historic Skykomish Hotel.  Several residences were also moved and are being temporarily stored in a different location as work occurs on these properties.   This year’s work also involves moving the historic Maloney General Story and Skykomish Hotel

Excavation and soil cleanup efforts

After a short delay due to archeological discoveries, cleanup work got into full swing in July and is ongoing.  In addition to excavation and contamination removal on affected properties, cleanup work includes implementing a traffic rerouting plan, activating a temporary construction water treatment system, installation of temporary sidewalks, parking, and pedestrian crosswalks, and dust, air, and river monitoring which will be ongoing throughout the cleanup work.  As the cleanup proceeds, contaminated soils will be loaded out by rail cars, and will be replaced with clean soils.  Excess oil will also be removed, transported out, and treated  for re-use at a separate facility.  Once sampling confirms that affected properties meet cleanup standards, structures will be restored to their original properties and be made ready for residents to occupy again.

Archeological Discoveries

Cleanup crews found historic features during sampling and excavation of overburden soils in the excavation area near 4th Street. Northwest Archaeological Associates (NWAA) and Strider began documenting the features and removing artifacts on July 10. NWAA is now exploring the General Store property and will investigate the Skykomish Hotel property after the building is relocated. The permit obtained for this work will cover any future finds during construction this year.

Community Waste Water Treatment System

One of the biggest elements to the Skykomish cleanup is the construction of a new waste water treatment system.  Construction on the system got started in 2008, and will proceed through early 2010, with resident connections beginning in the Fall of 2009.  The cleanup work in town must be closely coordinated with the construction of this system as both require use of town roads and streets.
 
The Town of Skykomish has hired a contractor, Plats Plus, Inc., to install collection lines and make house-by-house connections to the community wastewater system, beginning this summer.  Construction of collection lines is scheduled to begin in early August, and other work will include grinding of asphalt for a four-foot wide sewer trench on Old Cascade Highway, electrical work on the main pump station, construction of a new, smaller pump station, completion of the wastewater treatment plant and drain field, and installation of tanks, valves and plumbing on private properties.  Any questions on these efforts can be directed to the Town of Skykomish at 360-677-2388.

 For more information regarding the cleanup, the Cleanup Action Plan,  please see the Revised Amendment to the Cleanup Action Plan, or the Skykomish Cleanup Webpage. You may also visit any of the site information repositories, and contact the Ecology Skykomish Team at (425) 649-4486 for information or a copy of the 2009 Engineer Design Report.

Past Studies, Reports, and Plans

During the cleanup process, Ecology requires investigations and studies to determine the nature and extent of contamination on the site and to identify ways of cleaning it up.  This process is explained in the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study and the Interim Action Plan.  Once this has happened, a cleanup action plan is developed, and a legal agreement called a Consent Decree (CD) is negotiated between Ecology and the Potentially Liable Party (PLP).  For this site BNSF is the PLP, and a CD was agreed to and entered in court in October 2007.  The Consent Decree also contains and Cleanup Action Plan, Schedule, and Public Participation Plan, all of which outline how the cleanup will be conducted.  An Environmental Impact Statement is also prepared to make sure the cleanup addresses key environmental concerns and issues.  Listed below are the most recent documents that are relevant to current cleanup activities.  Due to file size, these are not live links but are available by contacting Ecology.  Past studies, reports, and plans are also available from Ecology or at one of the information repositories.

• Revised Consent Decree and Cleanup Action Plan (2009)
• 2009 Engineer Design Report
• Master Engineer Design Report
• 2009 Public Participation Plan
• Former Maloney Creek – East Wetland Special Design Report
• Draft School Cleanup Alternatives Evaluation Report

Public Participation

Public participation is an important part of the cleanup process.  This section includes the detailed Public Participation Plan prepared by Ecology and used to guide community involvement during the cleanup. In addition, this section includes information on public meetings, the town's visioning process, facts sheets, letters and other communications with the public, and cleanup timelines and responsiveness summaries.

Legal Information

The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) is a hazardous waste cleanup law that guides the cleanup activities of Ecology.  This section includes legal agreements for cleanup and other legal information.

Related Information

• Watershed Information for WRIA 7

Additional Resources

• Acronyms used by the Toxic Cleanup Program
• Cleanup Process: Major Steps & Definitions
• Data Submittal Requirements for All Cleanup Sites
• Facility/Site Atlas
• Toxics Cleanup publications