Cleaning up: Bellingham community active in Waterfront cleanup outreach

Cleaning up Central Waterfront site is transforming Bellingham Bay

Stroll along the Bellingham waterfront today and you’ll see changes – a new public park with an award-winning restored beach, a restored Granary Building, and a new downtown city block complete with new roads, sidewalks, and bike paths.

All of these changes were made possible by first addressing contamination from a history of industrial activity. 

Contamination cleanup work continues at multiple sites along the Bellingham waterfront, which will foster more changes over the coming years. One of those sites is the Central Waterfront site.

An aerial view of Central Waterfront site

Center of it all

The Central Waterfront site is located on the waterfront between two waterways. Four other Ecology cleanup sites are in the area: two in-water sediment sites (Whatcom Waterway and I & J Waterway) and two upland sites (Georgia-Pacific West and the Holly Street Landfill).

“Win-Win” outreach partnerships

RE Sources for Sustainable Communities hosted a walking tour of the Central Waterfront site on July 10. They shared information about cleanup activities and connected the community with agency staff managing the cleanup efforts. On this rainy, overcast July weekday, about 40 curious folks joined RE Sources, Ecology, the Port of Bellingham, and City of Bellingham as we all toured the site. We saw the working waterfront in action, learned of previous cleanup work, and discussed planned cleanup work.

We award Public Participation Grants to individuals and nonprofit organizations like RE Sources who do outreach about contaminated sites. They received a grant starting July 1 and hit the ground running just days later with a Central Waterfront site tour. Opportunities like this enable the community to see a cleanup site in person while having conversations with the people managing a cleanup. It’s a “win-win” – for us, other agencies and organizations, and most importantly for the community.

Our Public Participation Grants allow communities groups to do outreach,
like providing tours of cleanup sites on Bellingham Bay.

Future generations

We were lucky to have many youth join in the tour conversation. It served as a perfect reminder of why we do such cleanups, for current AND future generations.

Our youngest tour members innocently asked how they could help clean up the site while we walked. A great reminder to keep an eye out for litter while we work to address the chemical contamination.

A middle school group studying environmental and social justice in their summer program also attended the tour and learned how cleanups involve an entire community.

Public participation

Washington’s environmental cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Action (MTCA), began as a public-initiated law and it turns 30 this year. Many steps of the MTCA cleanup process involve public participation. Your comments help inform Ecology’s management decisions.

Ecology invites you to review and comment on a draft Cleanup Action Plan and associated documents for the Central Waterfront site. The plan calls for a combination of removing and capping contaminated soil, monitoring conditions, and restricting uses.

During our first 30-day comment period, we received several requests for a public meeting, so we’ve scheduled a meeting for 6-8 p.m. on September 18 at  Bellingham Technology Development Center, 1000 F St., Bellingham. See this map for directions. 

You can submit comments online during our second 30-day comment period from September 16 – October 15, 2019.

Cleanup site information

• Fact sheet (pdf)
• Website
• Cleanup Action Plan

By Ian Fawley, Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist, Toxics Cleanup Program

How could our Brownfields program help your community?

Travel through a community of any size and you’re likely to see old gas stations, shuttered industrial facilities, or former farms – all of which may have environmental contamination. These abandoned or underutilized properties are known as brownfields. Our Brownfields Program helps put them back into use, allowing communities to bring their redevelopment visions to life.

Remediation realized

Ecology works with local governments, non-profits, tribes, and community stakeholders across Washington who are interested in cleaning up brownfields. We can help match your project to one or more of the wide range of federal and state funding and technical assistance opportunities.

Need inspiration to get your brownfield project going? Watch Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove share how his city partnered with Ecology and others to clean up the abandoned, contaminated Palouse Producers property on their main street:



Have a project of your own in mind? We invite you to join our Washington-Brownfields email list to receive updates about our efforts to support communities with redevelopment.

Learn more online

Following on the success of our 2019 Washington State Brownfields Conference, our updated brownfields website includes more information about funding opportunities, how to locate brownfield properties in your community, and access to print materials and presentations from the conference.

If you missed the conference, visit the Center for Creative Land Recycling blog, where they recapped the highlights in their “Brownfield Spotlight in Spokane” June 6 post. Big thanks to the Northwest Environmental Business Council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as to our sponsors, session presenters, and attendees for bringing your knowledge and interest to this important topic! We’ll use feedback received on the follow-up survey to plan future conferences and workshops.

Upcoming events

• Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council Conference; October 22–24, 2019; Wenatchee, WA. Come see us; we’re presenting at a few sessions!
• Brownfields 2019: Sustainable Communities Start Here; December 11–13, 2019; Los Angeles, CA
• Stay tuned for information on the spring 2020 Oregon Brownfields Conference. 2018 conference materials are available.

Brownfields Funding and Training Opportunities

We are encouraging Washingtonians to apply for two opportunities offered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants – Apply by June 10, 2019

Environmental contractors investigating contamination at the
Palouse Producers brownfield site that received Integrated
Planning Grant funding from Ecology.

EPA is accepting proposals from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to deliver
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed, and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field.

A critical part of EPA’s EWDJT program is to further environmental justice by ensuring that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination, including low-income, minority, and tribal communities, have an opportunity to reap the benefits of revitalization and environmental cleanup.

Recreation Economy for Rural Communities planning assistance – Apply by May 31, 2019

Communities are invited to apply for planning assistance from Recreation Economy for Rural Communities. Successful applicants will work with a planning team to help their communities bring together local residents and other stakeholders to decide on strategies and an action plan to grow the local outdoor recreation economy. The planning assistance process will take place over a period of four to six months, with a focal point being a two-day, facilitated community workshop. Participants will work together to identify a vision, goals, and specific actions to realize the locally set goals.

Partner communities are encouraged to pursue activities that foster environmentally friendly community development and Main Street revitalization through the conservation and sustainable use of public or private forests or other natural resources.

Register soon: Brownfields Conference room rate ending April 25

If you’re interested in learning about cleaning up and redeveloping properties with suspected or known contamination, please join us for the FREE Washington State Brownfields Conference in Spokane May 28 – 30, 2019. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Doubletree by Hilton Spokane City Center. The special room rate will be available until April 25, or until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first. The guest list is growing and the cut off for getting the conference rate on hotel rooms is fast approaching, so register and reserve a room before it’s too late!

The goal of this conference is to bring together public and private sector stakeholders and tribes in Washington and the Inland Northwest. This event is being coordinated in partnership with the Northwest Environmental Business Council and is funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We also want to thank the following event sponsors for their support:

• GeoSearch
• Hart Crowser
• Maul Foster Alongi
• PBS
• Restorical Research
• Spokane Environmental Solutions
• Stantec
• TSI

Please visit our conference web page to learn more and download the draft agenda. We hope to see you there! If you have questions, please contact Ali Furmall, office: 509-329-3436, cell: 509-655-0538.

Washington communities are invited to apply for federal assistance to increase local sustainability

Our Brownfields Program staff are encouraging Washington communities to take advantage of the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the program for communities that are relatively new to environmentally sustainable approaches but have a basic understanding of smart growth principles and how they apply locally.

EPA enacts this program by providing technical assistance workshops in selected communities. Their workshops are focusing on two tools this year.

1. Communities with Superfund and/or brownfield properties are invited to apply for the Strategies for Neighborhood Reinvestment tool. A brownfield is a formerly abandoned property whose redevelopment may be complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination. The tool will help them enact policies to increase the redevelopment potential of contaminated properties by creating better conditions for real estate investment in the neighborhoods surrounding them.
2. Communities digging up and reconstructing streets are invited to apply for the Green and Complete Streets tool. The tool will help them capitalize on water infrastructure upgrades as an opportunity to rebuild more pedestrian and bike-friendly streets that better manage stormwater on-site.

How to Apply

Submit a letter of interest no longer than two pages. The applicant can be a local, county, or tribal government, or a nonprofit organization that has the support of the local government on whose behalf they are applying. Communities can submit multiple letters of interest, but the nature of the challenge should correspond with each tool requested. Each letter should:

1. Select one of the tools described above.
2. Describe the nature of the smart growth or sustainable communities-related challenge(s) facing your community, including any relevant data to demonstrate the challenge. If applicable, describe how this challenge affects low-income, minority, tribal, and/or other communities facing disproportionate environmental or health risks.
3. Explain the relevance of the selected tool to the challenge(s), being as specific as possible. Applicants must describe how the community’s issues can be addressed through the technical assistance workshop, focusing on why the requested tool will help with a specific challenge. Specifically:
• For Strategies for Neighborhood Reinvestment, indicate what, if any, economic development is occurring in your community and steps your community has already taken to encourage infill development, including policies, code changes, partnerships, or other strategies.
• For Green and Complete Streets, preference will be given to communities that already have a Complete Streets policy in place and want to add the “green” element, so indicate how familiar your community is with Complete Streets practices as well as green infrastructure for stormwater management. Include local examples, if any.
4. Describe your plan for engaging underrepresented communities, including low-income, minority, tribal, and/or overburdened communities, in the technical assistance workshop.
5. Identify your preferred timing for the workshop. The proposed timeframe for these workshops is between March and September 2019. Please provide a preliminary idea of the best dates for your community.
6. Describe the community’s expected capacity for implementation, for example, local policy change, additional consideration for physical improvements, new incentives, etc. EPA generally looks to assist communities that are ready to implement once the Building Blocks workshop and next steps memo are complete.
7. If applicable, describe how this assistance would complement work being done in the community using other federal funding (EPA brownfields grants, U.S. HUD Community Development Block Grants, U.S. DOT TIGER/BUILD grants) and/or how this workshop would align with a local or regional planning process.
8. Affirm that the community can provide the information or materials listed in the “What the Community Provides” section of each tool description.
9. List the primary point of contact and other key stakeholders who would be involved in the technical assistance work, including title, address, email, and phone number of the primary contact.

The letter must be signed by a mayor, city manager, elected official, or other representative of the community. This signature represents the community’s support and commitment to this program and assistance.

The letter of interest must be submitted in an attachment (Microsoft Word or PDF file) by email to BuildingBlocks@epa.gov no later than November 16, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Please save your file using the following format: Name of Jurisdiction Name of State and corresponding tool number (#x) based on the following list. For example: Catonsville Maryland #1.

• Tool #1: Neighborhood Reinvestment
• Tool #2: Green and Complete Streets

If you have questions about this request for letters of interest, please see EPA’s Frequently Asked Questions webpage. If your question is not answered there, please contact Chip Gurkin at Gurkin.Charles@epa.gov or 202-564-2778.

Learn tips to beautify brownfields at 9/18 Yakima Workshop

Join Ecology and other experts as we dive deep into best practices and the latest trends in brownfield redevelopment, and provide you with tools and insights to advance your land reuse projects.

You can learn more about Ecology's brownfields program on our website.

What will I learn?

The workshop will kick off with a regulatory overview, covering topics from the economics of brownfield reuse, to uses of vacant and underutilized land and buildings, as well as issues unique to agricultural land. Presenters will share successful case studies from Wenatchee and Kittitas County. Ecology and the Washington Department of Commerce will talk about tools and grants to get moving on your brownfields sites.

See the agenda and speakers here.

Other topics include:

• Grants: State and Federal
• Due Diligence and Your Responsibility
• Working with Private Property Owners
• Redeveloping Agricultural Areas and Town Centers
• Public, Private, Non-Profit, Community: How Can You Help?
• Ask the Expert

Who should attend?

• Project Managers (public, private, and nonprofit)
• City Planners
• Construction Managers
• Redevelopment Managers
• Environmental Attorneys
• Practitioners engaged in the acquisition, funding, and development of properties

Register today!

The Brownfields Workshop is Tuesday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Yakima Convention Center.

Cleaning up: Give input on Marshall Landfill

The Marshall Landfill overlooks Queen Lucas Lake.

In late May, cleanup site manager Huckleberry Palmer led Carmen Nezat’s Eastern Washington University environmental geology class on a field trip to the nearby Marshall Landfill. Although the scene may look picturesque, contamination such as volatile organic compounds, methane, metals, herbicides, and nitrates are below.

Now we’re asking these students – and the public at large – to give us input on cleanup options through August 1. The draft Remedial Investigation Report documents the extent and location of contamination in groundwater and landfill gases at the site. The draft Feasibility Study evaluates cleanup options.

The seven cleanup options range from installing fencing and warning signs to excavating all the waste and moving it to a newer landfill that complies with environmental laws. The Marshall Landfill has no bottom liner. Today’s landfills are required to have double liners with a space between to collect leaks.

The landfill stopped accepting waste in 1990, but the owners didn’t complete all the steps to safely close it. Ecology is now leading and funding cleanup.

After the comment period, we’ll respond to the comments we receive. Then, we will write a draft cleanup action plan that selects one, or a combination, of the cleanup options from the Feasibility Study. The draft plan will be available for public review and comment before becoming final.

If you have questions, please contact Huckleberry at 509-329-3433 or huckleberry.palmer@ecy.wa.gov.

Input wanted: Cleanup options for BNSF Railway Black Tank Property

From May 22 through June 22, we are gathering public comments on the cleanup methods we’re considering for the BNSF Railway Black Tank Property in the Hillyard neighborhood. BNSF and Marathon Oil Company are responsible for cleanup because of their past activities at the site.

The site housed an above-ground black tank that stored petroleum products, primarily the thick, heavy oil known as bunker C for fueling trains. The site also had an above-ground red tank that was used to store and transfer diesel. Areas of soil are contaminated, and a 7-acre plume of petroleum rests on groundwater 170 feet underground.

Cross-section showing petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater
(Courtesy of  ERM)

Excavation with offsite disposal or capping are proposed for contaminated shallow soil. Five groundwater cleanup options are under consideration: biodegradation, bioventing/biosparging, bioventing/biosparging and manual petroleum removal, bioventing/biosparging and steam-enhanced extraction, and smoldering combustion. Bioventing/biosparging is BNSF and Marathon's preferred cleanup option.

These cleanup methods are summarized in the fact sheet and fully described in the remedial investigation and feasibility study report.

When contamination intersects with a freeway

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is building the North Spokane Corridor (NSC) to connect US Highway 395 with Interstate 90 in Spokane. The Hillyard portion of the NSC is within the Black Tank cleanup site. Ecology, BNSF, Marathon, and WSDOT are working together to keep both projects running smoothly.

BNSF and Marathon have committed to a cleanup timeframe of less than 20 years, and WSDOT is planning freeway construction work to accommodate multi-purpose cleanup infrastructure so cleanup options will not be limited by the presence of the NSC.

Educating the public about the Black Tank site and soliciting your input are important steps in the cleanup process. We have been impressed by the outpouring of public interest, which gave us the opportunity to meet with the community about this cleanup site 17 times since late 2015! The cleanup and the freeway design have and will continue to benefit from meaningful public engagement.

It’s all about the life-giving aquifer

Our business is protecting people and the environment. The Spokane-Valley Rathdrum-Prairie Aquifer provides drinking water to nearly 500,000 residents in the Spokane area. Protecting this vital, sole source of drinking water is our top priority for this site. Not only do we care about your health and the environment, but we drink that water, too!

Because the contamination is a heavy oil, it is staying on top of groundwater with very little mixing occurring (imagine oil and vinegar dressing that isn’t shaken up). Because water wells are not located close to the site, drinking water is not affected by the contamination at this time, and we monitor it regularly.

Next steps

Please submit comments to Jeremy Schmidt online, by email, or mail (4601 N. Monroe, Spokane, 99205) by June 22. We will respond to the comments we receive.

Then we’ll use the data gathered thus far and your feedback to draft a cleanup plan. We will hold a public meeting during the comment period for that cleanup plan.

There is no easy answer, but working together, understanding one another’s values and constraints with a willingness to compromise, we will protect people and the environment, preserve our precious drinking water, and successfully build a freeway.

Cleaning Up: Welcome to ‘the Neighborhood’ – Part 2

Last week, we shared the new What’s In My Neighborhood mapping tool that allows users to search for polluted properties across Washington state.

We received a variety of responses via Facebook, some applauding Ecology’s efforts. Others were understandably alarmed to see dots sprinkling the map around their homes and workplaces.

Don't forget to check the legend!

So let’s talk about what those dots mean and how Ecology goes about enacting Washington’s cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). While those 12,300 dots may seem overwhelming, don’t forget that almost half – the green ones – are already cleaned up!

Most sites pose little immediate risk to people living near them. In many cases, sites in neighborhoods are old gas stations, home heating-oil tanks, and not big industrial facilities.

MTCA basics

In 1988, voters passed a citizens’ initiative that created MTCA. Part of the act is a tax on hazardous substances such as petroleum products, pesticides, and other chemicals.

Money generated by the hazardous substance tax not only helps fund cleanup of contaminated sites, it also funds state and local government programs that protect the environment and people from threats posed by toxic chemicals. Those programs include controlling sources of toxics, such as polluted stormwater runoff. Prevention is more efficient than cleanup, so focusing some funding there is a proactive way to curb future cleanup costs.

Important cleanup principles

• When the threat is immediate, Ecology takes action before going through the MTCA process (see the cleanup process flowchart below)
• The polluters pay for cleanup, unless they are financially unable or cannot be located – this is where the hazardous substance tax kicks in
• MTCA requires that the public be informed about contaminated sites and given the opportunity to participate in cleanup decisions – the What’s In My Neighborhood tool, though not required by law, is another way Ecology is sharing information and encouraging input
• Because Ecology staff and funds are limited, cleanup sites are prioritized by the risk they pose to people and the environment

The cleanup process

Some flowchart highlights:

• A lengthy part of the process (#5) involves investigating a site to discover how much contamination is there and everywhere it is located. Then we explore cleanup options. On average, this process takes 3 to 4 years, which can vary depending on how complex the site is. This sounds like a long time, but we can’t come up with a cleanup solution without understanding the problem.
• If all seven steps are done sequentially, it can take a site 11–12 years to be cleaned up. However, not all sites go through all the steps, and steps can overlap.

We’re here to help and want your feedback

The Help menu provides quick assistance with navigating the Neighborhood, and if you have questions, suggestions, or find the tool not working, please contact Ecology at TCPWebmail@ecy.wa.gov.

By Erika Bronson, public involvement, Toxics Cleanup Program

Cleaning Up: Work along Centennial Trail and Spokane River

The Holcim Inc cleanup site is owned by Neighborhood Inc., the City
of Spokane Valley, and Holcim (US) Inc.

Through November 2016, cleanup work is happening in the Spokane Valley at 12207 E. Empire Avenue, known as the Holcim Inc site.

The cleanup site is near the well-used Centennial Trail and a public boat launch on the Spokane River, so we wanted to let people know what's going on and answer potential questions.

Why is the site being cleaned up?

Cement was manufactured at the site from 1910 to 1967. During that time, cement kiln dust (CKD) was deposited on the ground. Soil sample results confirmed one CKD deposit about 109,100 cubic yards in volume and another about 12,300 cubic yards in volume. 

The bare ground is a CKD deposit.

The CKD contains various contaminants that exceed state standards, including arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Some of the CKD at the site is very corrosive with a pH greater than 12.5. Other contaminants near the cement-manufacturing area in surface soil include benzene, carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and gasoline-range petroleum hydrocarbons.

Is it safe to use the trail and river near the site?

Yes, the trail and river are safe to use. The public should not enter the fenced cleanup area.

How will the site be cleaned up?

CKD deposits will be stockpiled and covered with an engineered cap on the Holcim Inc property. Native grasses will be planted on the 2 feet of topsoil covering the cap.

All contamination will be removed from the City of Spokane Valley property, and this land will be restored and available for public use.

What happens when cleanup is finished?

Long-term monitoring will occur, and Ecology will visit the site at least every 5 years to verify the cleanup still protects people and the environment.

How can I get more information?

• Visit Ecology's Holcim Inc website.
• Contact Jeremy Schmidt, site manager, at jeremy.schmidt@ecy.wa.gov or (509) 329-3484; or Erika Bronson, public involvement, at erika.bronson@ecy.wa.gov or (509) 329-3546.

By Erika Bronson, public involvement, Eastern Region, Toxics Cleanup Program

Comment now on the City of Elma’s proposed shoreline plan

The City of Elma’s proposed update to its Shoreline Master Program is ready for public comment now through September 8. The proposal would replace the city’s 1974 Shoreline Plan, and address uses and development along a mile of Cloquallum Creek.

What’s a Shoreline Master Program?

Shoreline Master Programs are local plans developed by cities and counties to manage shoreline use. These local programs protect natural resources for future generations, provide for public access to public waters and shores and plan for shoreline uses and development.

City of Elma’s shoreline plan

The City of Elma’s new shoreline plan establishes vegetative buffers to accommodate existing development, reflects the city’s underlying zoning and references a restoration plan that identifies potential future projects. Read the proposed SMP and several background documents here.

Paper copies of the proposal are available by contacting the City of Elma or Ecology Regional Planner Kim Van Zwalenburg at the address below.

All comments should be sent to Kim Van Zwalenburg. There are three ways to do it:

By email:  Kim.VanZwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov

By mail:    Southwest Regional Office
                  PO Box 47775
                  Olympia, WA 98504-7600

In person:  300 Desmond Drive
                   Lacey, WA 98503

The public can also call 360-407-6520 to comment and ask questions.

Ecology must receive comments no later than 5 p.m. on September 8, 2016.

Comment summaries and the city’s response will be posted to the City of Elma Shoreline Master Program page on Ecology’s website.

By: Dave Bennett, Soutwest Region communications manager

Cleaning Up: Welcome to 'the Neighborhood'!

Polluted properties dot Washington's landscape. Literally.

Each dot represents a contaminated site in the state.

More than 12,300 toxic sites have been identified in the state -- and those are just the ones we know about right now. More are reported to us each year, even as others are cleaned up. At this point, just over half of them are considered to be “cleaned up.” But there is still a long way to go.

Search for cleanup sites near you

So do you ever wonder if one -- or more -- of those sites could be next door to your residence or workplace? Or maybe close to the local school or places where you do business?

If such thoughts have crossed your mind, search our new What's In My Neighborhood mapping tool to find contaminated sites around you. Instructions are found by clicking the "help" button on the left side of the web page.

Let's use Ecology's headquarters as an example. The building is located at 300 Desmond Drive SE in Lacey. So we type in that address to search for cleanup sites within 1 mile of the building and we get 13 sites.

Scrolling down the left side shows that many of those sites are "cleaned up." More information may be available on individual sites by clicking on the site name.

You can do the same thing with your home, your workplace, local schools, and other locations. You just need a device with internet access and a few minutes.

The "What's In My Neighborhood" mapping tool shows 13 cleanup sites within 1 mile of Ecology's Lacey building.

Tell us what you think

The "Neighborhood" tool is easy to use, though it's still a work in progress -- information on some of the smaller, less-contaminated sites is not as plentiful as information on more complex sites. We intend to develop and add more information, and we welcome your feedback.

If you have questions, suggestions for improvement, or run into technical issues, please email TCPWebmail@ecy.wa.gov.

By Erika Bronson, public involvement, Toxics Cleanup Program

Composting at the office turns would-be waste into valuable product

By Michelle Andrews, organics specialist, and Erika Holmes, communications

Food is the largest component of our garbage by weight, at 17 percent in Washington and 21 percent nationwide. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, about 40 percent of the food grown in the United States isn’t eaten. Meanwhile, about 15 percent of our population doesn’t know where their next meal will come from.