This story appeared in the Olympia on July 1, 1998. It is related to earlier documentation on this web site and is included here because of the importance of the story. Additional stories related to this can be found here.
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By Joel Coffidis The Olympian
TUMWATER - Federal officials say they know the sources of pollution that have contaminated city wells and that equipment to remove the chemicals should be installed by September
Results of tests over the past several months point toward four likely sources of pollution near the city's Palermo well field, said Robert Kievit, a project manager with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Palermo well field is where three of six city wells ere shut down in 1993 because of concerns about pollution, most of which is thought to be decades old
When the equipment installation is completed in September, the city can reopen the three closed wells, said Kathy Callison, water resources program manager for Tumwater
"We're thrilled that things have moved as quickly as they have," Callison said
The sites where the industrial solvent trichloroethylene, or TCE, has been found include the state Department of Transportation laboratory near Barnes Lake, the department's regional headquarters on Capitol Boulevard and the Chevron gasoline station on Trosper Road. A smaller amount has been found at the Southgate Dry Cleaners, also on Capitol Boulevard, Kievit said
But Doug Pierce, the Transportation Department's environmental manager for operations, said his agency has challenged earlier data supplied by the EPA. The state has not seen the latest data, he said
Kievit said the EPA is working to identify those who dumped the chemicals so the agency can seek reimbursement for the cleanup costs
Meanwhile, the EPA has installed five vapor extraction wells at the dry cleaners to remove tetra- chloroethylene, or PCE, a chemical used for dry cleaning, Kievit said. The idea is to remove the chemical from the water before it reaches the aquifer and wells, he added
The dumping of the chemicals at the dry cleaners involved past owners, Kievit said. During the three months the vapor extraction wells have been in place at the dry cleaners, about 200 pounds of PCE have been removed, Kievit said. One pound can contaminate 4 billion gallons of water, he added
PCE and TCE can cause cancer and nerve and heart damage under long-term exposure, Kievit said
The testing and vapor extraction are part of a $3.9 million project that also includes construction of two air-stripping towers at the well field off of Palermo Street, Kievit said
The towers will force the TCE and PCE if it, too, reaches the wells - to evaporate before the water flows to an in-ground storage tank, said Noah H. Myers, project manager for Ecology and Environment Inc., a Seattle-based company doing the technical work
The site was placed on the federal Superfund in April 1997, allowing the EPA to spend emergency cleanup money
"It demonstrates that Superfund projects are achieving results," Callison said
The city has about a dozen wells, including the three that will reopen in September, Callison said
"Without those (three) wells, it's very difficult for us to move large amounts of water through our system," Callison said
The loss of the three wells the part five years cost the city about 1,000 gallons per minute, which represents about half of the winter supply of water and about 25 percent of the@ summer supply, Callison said
The towers also will help make the water less corrosive to copper plumbing, which the city would have needed to do anyway under new water standards, Callison said
Joel Coffidis writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5447
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TUMWATER -
The state and business owners might have to pay for all or part of an ongoing $3.9 million Superfund cleanup, a federal official said
Work is under way to reopen three Tumwater city wells and to clean up chemicals dumped during the 1960s, '70s and '80s, said Bob Kievit, a project manager with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Two likely sources of the pollution are the state Department of Transportation's laboratory and regional headquarters near the Palermo well field, Kievit said
But while the state used a solvent similar to one that has contaminated three city wells, it was not dumped at the two locations, said Doug Pierce, the state agency's environmental manager for operations
Kievit said the EPA will share its testing data in coming weeks with those who are potentially liable. Face-to-face meetings should occur by the end of the year, he added
Pierce said the state has contested the EPA's earlier test results, and it wants to see the latest data
"Until we have information to lead us to believe we're part of the problem, we're going to continue to say we believe we're not," Pierce said
Previous owners of the Southgate Dry Cleaners also will be contacted, as well as officials representing the site where the Chevron gasoline station sits, Kievit said
The owner of the Southgate shopping center, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, also could be held liable for cleanup costs, Kievit said
Kievit said the focus has been to identify the pollution sources and to clean up the water
But in addition to the work that is under way, more cleanup work could occur, Kievit said
Soil cleanup at the gasoline station site and two state locations is not planned because the dumping occurred long ago, Kievit said. It wouldn't be worth replacing soil, he said
But other remedies might be pursued, Kievit said. One possibility is drilling wells and pumping water out of the aquifer and discharging it to a safer place away from the city wells, Kievit said
Or air could be pumped into the aquifer to remove the contaminants' vapors, he said
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