Once a polluted site, now a shoreline trail for the public

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published April 18, 2009

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OLYMPIA – The return of public access to a portion of South Sound's most costly and complicated hazardous-waste site was celebrated Friday at the tip of the Port of Olympia peninsula.

History of Cascade Pole cleanup

1984: The State Department of Ecology steps up a pollution inquiry at the Cascade Pole wood-treating plant at the tip of the Port of Olympia peninsula. Studies show that the groundwater, soils and Budd Inlet sediments are contaminated with dioxins, petroleum byproducts and pentachlorophenol from leaks, spills and poor waste management at the 17-acre site.

1986: Cascade Pole forces Ecology to get a search warrant to gain access to the site for groundwater testing. Plant operations are shut down.

1990: Port, Ecology and company officials sign a formal agreement to begin the first cleanup under the state's new, voter-approved toxics-cleanup law.

1992: A groundwater pump and treat system is installed to recover wood-preserving chemicals from beneath the site.

1993: A 350-foot trench and underground containment wall is built along the shoreline to stop creosote from leaching into the bay.

1995: The port takes over the lead role for cleanup activities.

1997: The underground pollution containment wall is extended to wrap around 13 acres of the site.

2001: About 32,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment are dredged from Budd Inlet and placed in a huge, clay-lined containment cell built on site.

2004: The Port and Ecology agree to cap and pave the sediment-holding basin, turning it into giant parking lot for vehicles and boat trailers.

2009: The cleanup cost so far is $26 million. Funding includes Ecology grants, $11.6 million; insurance settlement, $7.5 million; port-collected property taxes, $2.4 million; and Cascade Pole, $3.85 million.

About 40 people associated with the Cascade Pole cleanup gathered to officially open to the public a 640-foot shoreline trail and a nearly 4-acre parking lot for cars and boat trailers using the nearby Swantown Marina boat launch.

The paved area sits on top of about 32,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments that were dredged from the near shore area of Budd Inlet in 2001 and placed in a clay-lined bathtub 15 years after the Cascade Pole plant was abandoned. The plant left a legacy of pollution that has cost $26 million in studies and cleanup.

"It shows that a hazardous-waste site — once properly engineered and controlled — can be put back to public use," said Rebecca Lawson, a state Department of Ecology toxics cleanup program manager.

The elevated parking lot offers a commanding view of Budd Inlet and the Olympic Mountains and eventually will serve the port expansion of its NorthPointe development, said Port Commissioner Bill McGregor.

The severity of pollution problems at the old wood pole-treating plant started becoming apparent in 1984. A formal cleanup plan was signed involving the port, Ecology and Cascade Pole in 1990, and a number of cleanup measures have been completed since — including the sediment removal and construction of an underground wall to serve as a shoreline pollution barrier. "Why did the cleanup take so long?" Lawson asked. The answer, she said, is twofold: It has been a complex problem to solve and very expensive.

The final phase of cleanup set for this year involves a roughly 1-acre area near the parking lot, port site manager Don Bache said.