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February 2001 FACT SHEET
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Consent Decree for Cleanup Proposed The Washington State Department of Ecology proposes, under terms of the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA, Chapter 70. 105D RCW), a consent decree with the Centralia Landfill Closure Group (consisting of Lewis County, and the Cities of Centralia, Chehalis, Morton, Mossyrock, Pe Ell, and Vader) to monitor landfill gas, surface water and groundwater and maintain the cover system at the Centralia Landfill. A consent decree is a legal document, approved and issued by a court, formalizing an agreement between Ecology and potentially liable persons (PLP's). This agreement ensures that proposed activities are conducted in a timely fashion, in accordance with MTCA and other applicable laws and regulations. As part of the consent decree, a draft cleanup action plan has been prepared, describing the site cleanup alternatives. Your comments on the proposed consent decree are welcome through March 30, 2001. The public is also invited to a meeting on March 8, 2001 to discuss the proposal, ask questions, and offer comments or concerns. The meeting will be limited to issues covered by this consent decree only. The box at the right provides information about where to review the proposed consent decree, where to submit comments, and details about the public meeting. Site Background The Centralia Landfill, located at 1410 South Tower Avenue in Centralia, is an approximately 55-acre municipal solid waste landfill owned by the City of ' Centralia and operated by the Centralia Solid Waste Utility. The landfill originally included property that was owned by the Centralia Holding Corporation, Harold and Mary Vassar as well as the City of Centralia. The Centralia Holding Corporation sold the property to the Centralia Christian School. The Centralia Christian School and Harold and Mary Vassar have filed restrictive covenants, preventing activities that could disturb buried garbage, on their respective properties. These properties were part of the closed north end landfill and are not included in the final cover system. The Centralia Christian School and the Vassars are not parties to this consent decree. The landfill was in operation from 1958 until 1994. From approximately 1970 to 1978, the landfill was operated by Harold LeMay Enterprises. At all other times, it was operated by the City of Centralia. Lewis County now operates a transfer station at the landfill site. The Centralia Landfill received primarily residential and commercial waste generated in Lewis and south Thurston Counties, but also received some industrial waste. Ross Electric of Washington, Inc. disposed of PCE-contaminated ash at the landfill. In addition, various other industries and commercial businesses disposed of hazardous substances at the site. Test results from various samples show that groundwater was historically contaminated by metals (arsenic, iron, manganese, antimony, cadmium, lead, silver, zinc, and inconsistently mercury), organics, and inorganics. Surface water was historically contaminated by metals (arsenic, iron, manganese, cadmium, copper, lead, silver, zinc, and sporadically mercury) as well as inorganics. Groundwater and surface water are currently contaminated by arsenic, iron, manganese. Concentrations of other metals are no longer elevated. Stormwater/leachate collection ditches were constructed around the landfill in 1984 to catch surface water run-off contaminated by leachate seeping from the landfill side slopes. Leachate is liquid that has passed through decomposing garbage, and has extracted dissolved or suspected materials from the garbage. The potential (later confirmed) site contamination prompted EPA to place the site on the federal National Priorities List (also known as the "Superfund" List) in August 1990. It was also listed on the state hazardous sites list in the same month. In July 1991, a consent decree for an interim action at the landfill was entered in court. The interim action included installation of a temporary cover over part of the landfill; improvements to existing soil cover and erosion control in other parts of the landfill; installation of an active landfill gas control system below the temporary cover and a leachate seep collection system; surface water monitoring to determine if contaminants from the landfill were leaving the site; and installation of a perimeter fence. In 1993 and 1994, the Lewis County Central Transfer Station was constructed in the closed north end landfill area. Transfer station operations began and the landfill stopped accepting waste on April 1, 1994. A separate consent decree for a site remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) was entered in court in March 1993. This consent decree provided for a remedial investigation to gather data necessary to evaluate the type and extent of site contamination. The feasibility study identified and evaluated cleanup alternatives. The interim action consent decree was amended in May 1994 to remove the temporary cover, install a permanent cover system over the landfill, and install a landfill gas flare system adjacent to the landfill entrance facilities for gas treatment. The cover system is part of the final cleanup action. The cover system, over approximately 46 acres of garbage, was completed in the spring of 1995. The draft cleanup action plan and RI/FS report were available for public review and comment in September 1999. The cleanup action plan lists cleanup goals for site surface water and groundwater, and presents a selected site cleanup remedy.
What Is Being Done? The proposed consent decree, including the cleanup action plan, requires the Centralia Landfill Closure Group to take the following actions:
Ecology will oversee the project to ensure that all terms of the consent decree are satisfied.
What Happens Next? Public comment on the proposed consent decree for cleanup will be considered and the consent decree will be modified, if necessary. The decree will be finalized by being entered in court and work will begin.
Ecology Wants Your Comments! You may review and comment on the proposed consent decree through March 30, 2001 . The public comment period presents an opportunity to have your ideas and comments heard by Ecology. The box on page one provides details about where the proposed consent decree can be found and how to submit comments. To review more detailed site documents than those in the information repositories, call Ecology's Southwest Regional Office records center at (360) 407-6365 to schedule an appointment. A public meeting is also being held at the Centralia City Hall (118 West Maple Street) on March 8, 2001 beginning at 7 p.m. This will be an opportunity to learn about the site and proposed consent decree, and to state your comments or concerns. Please submit your written comments by March 30, 2001 to Rebecca Lawson, Site Manager, at the Ecology address listed in the box on page one. Ecology will review and respond to all comments received, and may revise the consent decree, if necessary. Updates of site activities will be provided to those who submit comments or request to be placed on the site mailing list. |
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