DOE invites public comment for Eatonville Landfill cleanup

The Washington Department of Ecology invites the public to comment on cleanup planning documents for the Eatonville Landfill cleanup site. The documents for review and comment are Agreed Order DE 20072 and the Public Participation Plan. These documents are available at the Eatonville Landfill Site webpage, https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/gsp/sitepage.aspx?csid=15271.

The public comment period ends Sept. 26.

The landfill site is located within the Nisqually State Park near the entrance on Mashel Prairie Road in Eatonville. The landfill is on land that was leased to Eatonville by Weyerhaeuser to use as a dump from 1950 until about 1980. The landfill is about two acres and located on a very steep slope. Municipal solid waste, appliances, car parts, empty drums, tires and other waste were disposed of at the landfill. Waste burning occurred at the site.

The state plans to develop recreational facilities in the Nisqually State Park near the landfill.

The Nisqually Indian Tribe holds fishing, hunting and gathering rights in the Nisqually watershed and the area around the landfill is culturally important to them.

The site is near the Mashel River, a major tributary of the Nisqually River. The Mashel is a critical spawning and rearing habitat for fall Chinook salmon and steelhead.

At the site, metals (iron, lead and zinc) have contaminated water to levels above water quality standards. The metals were found in water seeping from the ground at the base of the landfill. Other contaminants may have contaminated surface water, sediment and/or groundwater. Suspected contaminants include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum products and polychlorinated biphenyls.

Due to COVID-19, Ecology cannot offer in-person review options until offices reopen to the public. Hard-copy documents may be available at the Eatonville Library, 205 Center St., Eatonville, (253) 548-3311.

People who are unable to view information online at the Department of Ecology website and have questions should contact Craig Rankine, cleanup site manager, at Craig.Rankine@ecy.wa.gov or (360) 690-4795, or Nancy Davis, public involvement coordinator, at Nancy.Davis@ecy.wa.gov or (360) 407-0067.