FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 4, 2004 04-049 Land re-use uncovers additional toxic contamination OLYMPIA - The move to redevelop industrial properties for new uses often reveals toxic waste that needs to be cleaned up, and the state's list of contaminated sites gets longer as a result. Washington's Department of Ecology (Ecology) has added 29 properties to its list of contaminated sites that are targeted for cleanup and removed 10 that have been cleaned up and no longer pose a health threat. The 29 newly identified sites are located in 15 counties: Adams, Benton, Clallam, Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Okanogan, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston and Whatcom. The 10 sites removed from the list are located in King, Kitsap, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Whatcom and Yakima counties. Most of the newly added sites were likely contaminated some years ago, but the pollution was uncovered only recently as owners prepared to redevelop the property. Hazardous substances on the sites must be removed before the property can be sold or redeveloped. "Sometimes redevelopment and economics drive the cleanup of toxic sites, which may sound odd when it was past industrial and development practices that created the problem," said Jim Pendowski, toxics-cleanup manager for Ecology. "We continue to find contamination because when we re-use land, there's a chance we'll find past mistakes." 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. 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. "Our cleanup dollars get overstretched when property owners don't take responsibility for their toxic messes," said Pendowski. 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 at the end of February 2004 include: * Adams County - Washtucna Fertilizer Plant, rank 5; Washtucna Grange Supply in Benge, rank 3; and property at Highway 26 and Highway 261 in Washtucna, rank 4. * Benton County - B&B Equipment Co. in Prosser, rank 3; NW Pipeline site on Finley Road in Kennewick, rank 2; NW Pipeline site on Game Farm Road in Kennewick, rank 3; and NW Pipeline site on Highway 22 in Prosser, rank 4. * Clallam County - Fred's Auto in Port Angeles, rank 1, and the state Department of Natural Resources property off Cassidy Road near Sequim, rank 5. * Island County - Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club in Langley, rank 4, and the property at Sleeper Road and Highway 20 in Oak Harbor, rank 1. * King County - Four sites in Seattle: Pier 1, rank 2; the Seattle City Light property at 4th Avenue South, rank 5; the Stoughton Estate property, rank 5; and the First Avenue Bridge Landfill, rank 4. * Kitsap County - U.S. Navy Camp Wesley Harris near Bremerton, rank 2. * Kittitas County - Properties at 7th Avenue and Pine Street in Ellensburg, rank 5. * Lewis County - Logstackers Inc. in Toledo, rank 4, and the former Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad property in Centralia, rank 2. * Okanogan County - Brewster Elementary School, rank 3, and the Houser property on Green Lake Road in Tonasket, rank 5. * Pierce County - 1, 2 & O Cleaners in Puyallup, rank 3; the property located at 2926 South M St. in Tacoma, rank 2. * Skagit County - The former Scott Paper Mill site in Anacortes, rank 2. * Snohomish County - Monte Cristo Mine area in Silverton, rank 1. * Spokane County - Plaza Grange Supply in Plaza, rank 5. * Thurston County - John's Auto Wrecking in Olympia, rank 1. * Whatcom County - The Little Squalicum Creek property in Bellingham, and Westman Marine in Blaine, both rank 1. The sites taken off the list at the end of February 2004 are: * King County - The Asp property in Seattle was ranked 4. * Kitsap County - Pope & Talbot Industrial Landfill in Port Gamble had been ranked 2. * Pierce County - Simon & Sons in Tacoma was a federal Superfund site and not ranked by Ecology. * Skagit County - Unocal Bulk Fuel in Mt. Vernon was ranked 1. * Snohomish County - Arlington Fuel Stop, previously ranked 5. * Spokane County - Two sites in Spokane: the Chevron Bulk Plant and the Davenport Hotel. Both were ranked 5. * Thurston County - Briggs Nursery debris field in Olympia had been ranked 2. * Whatcom County - Keith Oil Co. in Bellingham was ranked 2. * Yakima County - Allied Technology Group in Yakima was ranked 3. ### 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 Ecology's Web site - http://www.ecy.wa.gov
This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council