Old Landfill, Sawmill Near Anacortes Focus of Cleanup

ANACORTES, Washington – A proposed cleanup of decades-old garbage, wood waste and other contaminants will protect the local environment and improve wildlife habitat along Padilla Bay’s shore in Skagit County, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

The Washington Department of Ecology invites the public to comment on draft documents related to cleaning up contamination at March Point Landfill, 9663 S. March Point Road, Anacortes. The comment period lasts through July 28.

Ecology is working on the landfill investigation and cleanup under a legal agreement with Skagit County, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Shell Oil Co., and Texaco Inc.

Draft documents include the results of contamination investigations, possible cleanup options, and a public participation plan that details how people can be informed about the site’s cleanup.

Site history

March Point Landfill (sometimes called Whitmarsh Landfill) operated from 1950 until 1973. It was first used as an unregulated public dump and later became a county disposal area. Decades of household, commercial and industrial wastes were discarded there.

A sawmill operated at the site from the late 1980s to around August 2011. Wood waste up to 10 feet thick accumulated over large portions of the landfill. DNR removed much of the wood waste in 2014 and 2015.

Samples taken from surface water and water seeping slowly from the landfill showed metals, benzene, semi-volatile organic compounds, and pesticides. Seep water also contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Releases of methane gas were recorded within the landfill near the wood waste. Marine sediments showed no impacts above levels that require cleanup action.

March Point Landfill is among nine Puget Sound Initiative sites prioritized for cleanup in and around Fidalgo and Padilla bays in Skagit County.

Review documents

·       Ecology’s March Point Landfill website.

·       Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th St.

·       Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 10441 Bayview-Edison Road, Mount Vernon.

·       Ecology’s headquarters at 300 Desmond Drive SE in Lacey. Please call 360-407-7224 for an appointment.

Submit comments

·       Mail comments to Arianne Fernandez, Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.

·       Send email to Arianne.Fernandez@ecy.wa.gov.

Information Written and provided by Seth Preston,  Washington State Department of Ecology communications