Source: http://www.ecy.wa.gov, April 4, 2016

Redevelopment plan first addresses contaminated soil and groundwater

SEATTLE – Cleanup work could begin as soon as this spring on a contaminated site near Green Lake in Seattle under a proposed legal agreement between the Washington Department of Ecology and the property owner.
Ecology seeks public comment on the agreement, a cleanup plan and related documents through May 2, 2016.
The Lutheran Retirement Home of Greater Seattle would conduct the cleanup as it prepares the one-acre site on Woodlawn Ave. NE, between Fourth and Latona avenues, for new construction.
The site housed the former Sunshine Laundry and Dry Cleaning Co. from the 1930s to 1970s, and later was home to Plastic Sales, Inc. Soil and groundwater contain contamination from solvent chemicals and related compounds.
The cleanup would include the removal of two underground tanks that once stored solvents, followed by:

• Installing an electrical resistance heating system. It would heat the soil to vaporize solvents as deep as 16-feet for capture and treatment.
• Excavating soil to a depth of 16 feet in conjunction with construction of underground parking below ground surface
• Treating solvent contamination in groundwater using enhanced reductive dechlorination, which uses bacteria to degrade solvents into other simpler compounds.

Monitoring wells would remain at the site for water sampling and testing to confirm the cleanup’s long-term effectiveness.
Ecology seeks comment on six items:

• Draft Consent Decree. The cleanup will be conducted under this legal agreement.
• Draft Final Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Report and the RI/FS Addendum. These report on studies that identified and located the contamination and evaluated potential cleanup alternatives.
• Draft Cleanup Action Plan. Describes the proposed cleanup work.
• State Environmental Policy Act and Determination of Non-Significance. Ecology’s determination that the proposed actions would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment.
• Updated Public Participation Plan. Describes how Ecology will inform the public about the cleanup and how people can become involved in this process.

These documents and other information about the site and the proposed cleanup are available at:

• Ecology’s website
• Seattle Public Library, Green Lake Branch, 7364 East Green Lake Dr. N
• Department of Ecology (call ahead for an appointment 425-649-7190), 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue