What do you do when the polluter is a mountain?

Sumas Mountain has been losing weight.

For decades, a slow-moving landslide has been exposing the side of Sumas Mountain, in Whatcom County. The landslide material contains naturally-occurring asbestos and heavy metals – and it all ends up in Swift Creek.

Can we stop the mountain from sliding? No dice.

The Sumas Mountain landslide (upper center) is polluting
Swift Creek with naturally-occurring asbestos and heavy metals. 

Ecology originally considered engineering a “fix” to stop Sumas Mountain from sliding and depositing asbestos into Swift Creek. Further research and design revealed that Mother Nature would win that fight.

The slide can’t be stopped by a human-engineered approach, no matter how massive. Sumas mountain, or at least one side of it, is slowly coming down.

So Ecology and Whatcom County are left to manage the effects: chronic flooding and huge volumes of landslide debris and stream-born sediment damaging property and crops downstream.

Check out the Swift Creek Action Plan to learn about this flood control and sediment management plan.

A round peg in a square hole

Sediment in Swift Creek from the Sumas Mountain Landslide

 is contaminated with naturally-occurring asbestos and heavy metals.

Over the past 30 years since the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) became law, Ecology has become skilled at managing cleanups – and then comes along a unique project that’s NOT a cleanup. MTCA gives Ecology legal authority to clean up contaminated sites – and to make Potentially Liable Parties (PLPs) pay for it. At Swift Creek, the only PLP is Mother Nature, and as much as we all wish, money does not grow on her trees. We can’t get her to the table to sign a legal agreement, either.

Meanwhile, we’re left with the challenge of fitting a round peg into a square hole: a long-term project implemented with a MTCA-based legal agreement, but with no PLP and no rigid MTCA process to guide management.

Twists and turns

Swift Creek public meeting October 9, 2019.
Public input was a big part of the process.

Given the unusual challenges and need for coordination among Whatcom County, EPA and Canadian agencies, Ecology’s project manager, Cris Matthews, relocated to the Bellingham Field Office years ago to better manage the project.

Since Mother Nature wasn’t ponying up and Whatcom County didn’t have the money to complete the project, outside funding was critical. Several trips to the state legislature over the years for budgetary help were eventually rewarded with appropriations to pay for the project. With funding available, Ecology and Whatcom County crafted a grant agreement that allows flexibility to provide for the complicated mix of property purchase, contracting, and long-term construction goals.

The twists and turns didn’t stop with the finances. The project requires the County to purchase approximately 200 acres of private timberland, and those negotiations are currently in progress.

Then there was keeping the community involved and informed -- in two nations. Swift Creek flows into the Sumas River and, eventually, the Fraser River, northeast of Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Maintaining relationships with our Canadian agency counterparts and proactively engaging the community were key. The public meeting was well-attended and various outreach outlets helped spread the word. Our story even landed on the front page of the local newspaper.)

Different flow, same goal

For all its differences, the end goal of the Swift Creek project is the same as Ecology’s goal for any project: protect human health and the environment. Since Ecology and Whatcom County can’t stop the asbestos problem or remove it from the environment, we work to control the effects to stream conditions, flooding and manage the sediment in a way designed to reduce risk.

To be where we are today took a team effort, dedication, perseverance, more than a few cups of coffee, and a unanimous “yes” vote by the Whatcom County Council on Tuesday, November 19 to sign the Consent Decree that defines the relationship and responsibilities for Ecology and the County.

The Swift Creek project Consent Decree signing on
Dec. 6, 2019 was an exciting milestone that allows
us to move forward with solutions. 

Friday, December 6, 2019 marked a huge milestone with the Consent Decree signing. Unfortunately, a photo couldn’t quite capture the satisfaction in the room, but you can see a few smiles accompanying the pens.

Well done team.

Sumas Mountain keeps sliding. Sediment keeps accumulating. Swift Creek keeps flowing.

Our team keeps innovating, managing and persevering.

When Mother Nature gives us a “square hole,” we make that “round peg” fit the best we can.

By Ian Fawley & Cris Matthews, Toxics Cleanup Program Bellingham Field Office​

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.

New Tacoma park emerges from Superfund site

Tacoma's new Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park.
Image courtesy Metro Parks Tacoma

Since the 1980s, we have been working in partnership with the City of Tacoma and the EPA to clean up the blight and contamination left behind by the former Asarco smelter.

On Saturday, July 6, 2019, a beautiful new park was born from the smelter’s slag heap after decades of hard work, and millions of dollars in cleanup. The Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park is now open to the public with walking paths, a public amphitheater, and sweeping views of Puget Sound and Vashon Island.

History of the site

The former Asarco smelter plant and smokestack

After operating for nearly 100 years, the Asarco smelter was designated as a Superfund cleanup site in 1987. While the smelter provided local jobs and valuable metal resources for the nation, it also left a toxic legacy in the soil, groundwater, and sediments in Puget Sound.

The once-iconic Asarco smokestack – the tallest in the world at 571 feet – vented heavy metals and arsenic that drifted along the winds to contaminate an estimated 1,000 square miles of land from Seattle to Olympia. Even the peninsula that the 11-acre park is built on was created from slag waste that Asarco dumped into Puget Sound over a period of decades.

Since the smelter was closed and its smokestack imploded in spectacular fashion, the site has been undergoing a remarkable physical and economic transformation. This includes the development of Point Ruston, with theaters, restaurants, shopping, and condominiums with spectacular views – and now this beautiful park.

Funding from the ashes

In 2009, Washington state was awarded a $188.5 million settlement during Asarco’s bankruptcy. $95 million of these funds were set aside for the Tacoma smelter. In 2013, the state legislature granted Ecology $5 million of these funds for the Metro Parks Trails Project. This funding was used to permanently cap 400,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil on the peninsula — enough to fill 120 Olympic-sized swimming pools — and allowed the new park to be built over the top.

Many agencies provided funds for additional improvements around the new park including:

• $36.6 million from Metro Parks' 2014 voter-approved park bond
• $25.4 million from the EPA
• $3.5 million from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office to create a 20-foot wide trail, and a pedestrian bridge over Pearl Street.
• $2.5 million from the Washington State Department of Transportation to create a new roundabout entrance to Point Defiance Park
• $1 million from Ecology to create a regional stormwater facility that can handle 8 million gallons of water daily from a 754 acre watershed

Naming the park

Back in the 1950s, the Asarco smelter and its pervasive pollution inspired local author Frank Herbert to draft an award-winning ecologically-inspired science fiction novel titled “Dune.” The Dune Peninsula Park is named after this novel, and Frank Herbert’s name is emblazoned on the new trail winding through it.

Cleanup continues

While the Dunes Peninsula is now open to the public, Ecology is still cleaning properties in nearby neighborhoods within the Tacoma Smelter Plume. To date, these cleanups have removed contaminated soil from homes, schools, daycares, parks, and camps in the surrounding area. Nearly 1,200 homes in the smelter plume qualify for cleanup.

Around 300 homes have already had their soil replaced, along with nearby city parks, schools and even Fort Nisqually at Point Defiance. Homeowners whose properties may be contaminated can contact us to learn more about the options available. For more information on all of our cleanup programs around the Asarco smelter, visit our Tacoma Smelter Plume Project page.

By Marcus Humberg, Communications Specialist, Toxics Cleanup Program.

Legal victory holds Canadian company accountable for polluting the upper Columbia River

The town of Northport on the Columbia River is near the

Canadian border and has been contaminated by toxic releases

from the Teck Metals smelter in Trail, British Columbia. 

In a big win for the Colville Tribes and Washington State, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a landmark environmental case this week.

The Supreme Court's denial leaves a September 2018 Ninth Circuit ruling in place, awarding more than $8 million in costs to the Colville Tribes and holding Teck  Metals, a Canadian mining company, liable for nearly 10 million tons of toxic wastes that the company discharged into the upper Columbia River.

This decision marks a major step forward for recovering upper Columbia River valley cleanup costs and natural resource damages.

“This is great news for the Tribes and Washington State,” said Jim Pendowski, program manager for Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program. “Teck Metals disposed of millions of tons of wastes into the Upper Columbia River. It’s time that the company is held accountable. This decision will ensure that will happen.”

The company operates the world’s largest lead and zinc smelter just ten miles upstream of the U.S. border in Trail, British Columbia. For nearly a century, it discharged about 400 tons of slag a day directly into the river, as well as liquid wastes. These wastes included metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, and zinc.

The litigation began back in 2004 after the company refused to abide by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order requiring Teck to assess the pollution and identify cleanup options. Teck argued that the EPA didn’t have jurisdiction over a Canadian company. Individual members of the Colville Tribes sued with Washington State as co-litigants. The Colville Tribes later joined the litigation.

The case affirms that U.S. federal environmental law applies to a Canadian company when it disposes of hazardous substances in the United States. Teck had claimed that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction over the company, but the Ninth Circuit found it “inconceivable” that Teck didn’t know its toxic waste was aimed at Washington when it discharged it directly to the Columbia River a few miles upstream from the U.S.

“This is a great example of what can be accomplished when two sovereigns—the Colville Tribes and the State of Washington—join forces to protect the environment and hold polluters accountable,” said Rodney Cawston, chairman of the Colville Business Council.

The State and Tribes look forward to cleanup and restoration of the upper Columbia River. Currently, the EPA is overseeing Teck’s investigation of Upper Columbia River contamination. In addition, the State, the Tribes, the Department of Interior, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians are working to recover natural resource damages resulting from Teck’s contamination of the river.

By Cheryl Ann Bishop, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

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.

Cleaning up: It’s about turf in two Everett parks

We’re pulling up sod in two northeast Everett parks and will plant new turf when we’re done. The project started this month on three acres of Wiggums Hollow Park, and we’ll start tackling the slope below the Viola Oursler Overlook in April.

A field in Wiggums Hollow Park awaits new topsoil 

and turf. The sod and a layer of soil have been 

removed, as part of the Everett Smelter cleanup.

Both parks lie within the Everett Smelter plume, a 1.1 square mile area where contaminated particles from smokestacks settled out of the air and onto the ground. The Everett Smelter operated near today’s intersection of North Broadway and East Marine View Drive from 1894-1912, but the contamination wasn't discovered until 1990. 

A string of park cleanups

Our park work this year will complete a trio of projects that began with the cleanup of American Legion Park in 2015 and 2016. We removed contaminated soils while protecting the park’s trees.

At Wiggums Hollow Park we’re clearing large areas of lawn, removing 6 to 18 inches of contaminated soil, putting in new topsoil, then rolling out new sod. The work area and a nearby basketball court are fenced off. After we’re done, fencing will remain around the new sod for two months to allow the new lawn’s roots to establish. The park should be fully open by early July.

Soil and grass replacement at Wiggums
Hollow Park and Viola Oursler Overlook will
complete a series of cleanups at three parks
in the Everett Smelter plume area.

We’ll close the Viola Oursler Overlook, starting in late April, so that we can clear grass, shrubs and about a foot of contaminated soil from its slope. We’ll put in new topsoil and use hydro seeding to plant new grass. The overlook should re-open late in July, but the slope will remain fenced through the end of the summer.

A last bit of road work

Cleanup of most of the former smelter property itself took place in 2005-2007, and last year we removed contaminated soil from the rest of that area, now occupied by East Marine View Drive.

That project tied up traffic with lane closures, and we thank everyone affected for their patience and cooperation. Removing soil and rubble from demolished buildings – to a depth of about 18 feet – got rid of sources of lead and arsenic contamination in groundwater that flows to the Snohomish River.

We’re about to finish that work this week, on East Marine View Drive near SR 529 and Riverside Road, with the final paving and striping. Those had to wait until after freezing weather. We’ll have to slow, restrict and direct traffic, but there will be no closures! 

Yard cleanups continue

The park cleanups are like a large version of our ongoing cleanup of residential yards in the plume area. We’re offering soil sampling at any yard we haven’t previously sampled in the cleanup area.

We work with property owners on a voluntary basis. We start with soil testing and, when needed, we offer to remove contaminated dirt and bring in clean soil to restore the yard.

If you live within the cleanup site and your yard has not had its cleanup, please continue to follow healthy actions that include washing hands with soap, leaving shoes at the door, regular floor and carpet cleaning, and frequent washing of children’s toys and pacifiers.

By: Larry Altose, Communications Manager, Northwest Regional Office

Cleaning up: Investing in communities to turn blighted properties into affordable housing

The City of Yakima will use a $200,000 Ecology Integrated Planning Grant
to investigate contamination on a property that will be home to
affordable housing once the site is cleaned up.

Washington’s environmental cleanup law, known as the “Model Toxics Control Act,” turns 30 this month. Our cleanup law has served as a road map to cleaning up industrial sites and other properties contaminated by toxic chemicals.

Removing these threats helps protect human health and the environment, and opens the door to put properties back into use. Ecology is now working to make it easier for affordable housing developers to redevelop once-contaminated properties into housing that communities can afford. 

Rapid development and the housing crisis

Many areas of Washington state are experiencing a housing crisis. Our state’s economic boom and population growth bring many benefits, but they are also driving up rents, home prices, and property taxes with devastating effects on some of our communities’ most vulnerable residents.

As Washington’s cities continue to rapidly grow, easily developable land for residences and commercial centers is becoming harder to find. More valuable real estate means cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated properties is more attractive to developers – which is good news for the environment. But the costs of cleanup often end up being passed through in the price of redevelopment, including housing. We’re trying to take the some of the cost of cleanup out of the equation, easing the way for the building of affordable housing. 

Ecology’s Integrated Planning Grants

If you live in Washington, Ecology works for you. That’s why nearly 70 cents of every dollar that comes to Ecology is passed through to local communities. In 2018, the Legislature provided us with $1 million for Integrated Planning Grants to be used for affordable housing projects. These are flexible grants that local governments can use to support pre-construction cleanup activities, including planning, investigation of levels and types of contamination, community involvement, education, and outreach.

We used these funds to award nearly $200,000 each to six new or potential cleanup projects aimed at expanding affordable housing.

Bellingham

This project, headed by the City of Bellingham and Port of Bellingham, includes cleanup and redevelopment of approximately three acres at the corner of Cornwall Avenue and Laurel Street near downtown Bellingham. Located within walking distance of downtown, Western Washington University, and public transportation, the redevelopment will include up to 50 affordable housing units, work-live spaces, ground-floor commercial spaces, a community kitchen, and public open space. The next steps include coordination with private developers, the Bellingham Housing Authority, other nonprofits, and conducting public outreach and involvement. 

Bremerton

The Bremerton Housing Authority will use these funds to complete the design of the cleanup plan at a vacant and underutilized industrial site along Oyster Bay Avenue. Once cleanup is complete, the housing authority will construct up to 50 units of affordable housing in a multi-story building. Funds will also be used to evaluate planning needs such as parking, utilities, and the potential need to update or rezone the property based on the city’s current comprehensive plan. The Housing Authority will conduct a series of public meetings on land use changes and housing needs. 

Kennewick

The City of Kennewick proposes to redevelop an approximately 10-acre former maintenance yard into the Kennewick Housing Authority Multi-Family Housing Complex with 110 units. The site consists of six buildings, only one of which is currently in use. 

Seattle

The Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority will use its grant funding to examine the cleanup needs and development potential for a currently underutilized eight-acre property in the district. Past environmental assessment work at the site has left concerns that the property could still be contaminated with hazardous substances. More investigation is needed to understand the nature and extent of contamination on the site, and to identify the potential for integrating any required cleanup with the redevelopment of the area into affordable housing units and commercial spaces for this urban community. 

Wenatchee

The City of Wenatchee plans to evaluate a former tree fruit research facility for potential purchase and redevelopment into a community asset that will support affordable housing. The Washington State University Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center property is located at 1100 N. Western Avenue at the corner of N. Western Avenue and Springwater Avenue. The property contains suspected contamination related to historic tree fruit research operations that included storage of pesticides and other agriculture-related chemicals and fuel products. The city is interested in facilitating the development of affordable housing and promoting new economic development. 

Yakima

Yakima has a significant need for affordable housing and facilities to accommodate homeless individuals. The City of Yakima will be using its funding to investigate contamination of a city-owned area that was used for fruit and vegetable processing. Once cleaned up, the site will be used to provide transitional housing units and a shelter. The city hopes to build 30 affordable housing units and a 100-bed shelter.

To learn about other projects already funded by Ecology, check out our interactive grants map.

Keep an eye on our blog for more stories on how we use Washington’s cleanup law to protect the environment, invest in communities, stimulate economic development, and build relationships.

By Cheryl Ann Bishop, Toxics Cleanup Program

Cleaning up: Washington’s environmental cleanup law turns 30

We're celebrating 30 years of cleaning up Washington under our environmental cleanup law – the Model Toxics Control Act. This innovative law powers our work to investigate, clean up, and prevent hazardous waste. Thanks to our cleanup law, more than 7,000 sites in Washington are cleaned up.

Cleanups protect people’s health by removing toxic chemicals from the environment, like arsenic from playground soil or methane gas from a solid waste landfill. Cleanups also preserve wildlife habitat for future generations, spur new economic developments, put abandoned properties back into use, and transform communities.

Our cleanup law evolved from citizens’ Initiative 97 in 1988 and became law in 1989. Its key principles are:

• The polluter pays.
• Cleanups should be as permanent as possible.
• Public participation is crucial.
• Processes should demonstrate a bias toward action, permanence, and innovation.

While thousands of sites are already cleaned up, there are more than 6,000 known or suspected contaminated sites in Washington that still need to be addressed — and the list keeps growing. We discover about 200-300 new sites a year (find out if there are sites in your neighborhood).

Over the next several months, we’re going to be talking more about our cleanup law and what it means in our state. To get us started, here are a few examples of how cleanups can transform communities and protect the environment.

Protecting the environment

Port Gamble Bay, on scenic Hood Canal, is a vibrant place for tribal and community members and tourists who come to see the picturesque historic mill town. The Port Gamble cleanup is a great example of how cleanups can stimulate habitat restoration and preservation efforts.

This cleanup was one of the largest creosote-treated piling removal projects in Puget Sound. Creosote leaches from treated pilings and structures to surrounding sediment and water. Shellfish – such as mussels and clams that are consumed by fish and humans – accumulate this leached contamination. Removal of pilings and contaminated sediment improves conditions for wildlife.

Thanks to funding from the Washington State Legislature, Ecology was able to purchase land for conservation and recreation, and complete restoration and pollution control projects in the bay. We also studied contamination in fish and shellfish. The projects completed with this funding have improved and protected habitat in and around the bay, created jobs in the area, and improved recreational opportunities.

Investing in communities

Ecology works for you. That’s why about 70 cents of every dollar that comes to Ecology is passed through to local communities. Several years ago we took an in-depth look at the return on investment for cleanups that received state funding.

Environmental cleanups along Tacoma's Thea Foss Waterway

helped turn blighted properties into viable investments. 

A powerful impact of environmental cleanups is economic development – cleanups create strategic opportunities to turn blighted properties into economically-viable developments that can significantly increase local and state tax revenues. For example, successful cleanups helped property values on Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway to increase from $11 per square foot to $39 per square feet over a ten-year period.

But the benefits of investing in communities aren’t just economic. These investments improve our quality of life, protect human health and the environment, and allow for redevelopment opportunities that transform communities. 

Supporting community vision

The City of Wenatchee had a vision for a revived Columbia River waterfront. Thanks in part to a $150,000 integrated planning grant from Ecology, the city was able to develop a plan for reuse of an old landfill along the river. Doing so helped the city move ahead with its broader waterfront redevelopment in keeping with the community’s vision, including the vibrant Pybus Public Market. Once home to a metal fabrication business, this property is now a town hub for shopping, great food, and music. The market’s development is included in this video about what’s happening along Wenatchee’s waterfront.

To learn about projects already funded by Ecology, check out our interactive grants map.

Keep an eye on our blog and social media for more stories on how we use Washington’s cleanup law to protect the environment, invest in communities, and stimulate economic development.