UWT faces millions in cleanup
Toxic chemicals pollute groundwater under campus
SUSAN GORDON; The News Tribune
Last updated: August 13th, 2006 06:15 AM (PDT)
University of Washington decision makers predicted a challenge when they chose a blighted Tacoma neighborhood for the site of a new campus in 1990. The decrepit 19th-century brick-and-stone warehouses at the heart of the historic site cried out for the reverent restoration that has turned the school into a showpiece.
But the plumes of toxic chemicals that taint the groundwater beneath much of the 15-acre, 2,300-student campus were not expected. University officials only recently have begun to account for the high price of what experts predict will be a complicated underground cleanup.
There’s no risk to the health of people in the area. But plumes of contaminated groundwater appear to be drifting toward the Foss Waterway and Commencement Bay. And taxpayers are likely to be on the hook for the bill.
Efforts to rid the UW Tacoma site of hazardous contaminants could cost more than $6.4 million, according to preliminary estimates compiled by university officials last spring. Spending so far exceeds $1.5 million.
“I know nobody would have projected what we are dealing with now. I don’t think anybody anticipated it,” said Karen VanDusen, the university’s director of environmental health and safety.
State Department of Ecology officials don’t blame UW for the contamination, but a 1997 agreement obligates the university to clean it up.
Some of the chemicals can be traced to past enterprises on or near the site. But the origin of others is a mystery and will be the focus of a $100,000 investigation scheduled to begin within the next couple of months, university officials said.
Over the past several years, contractors working for the university have drilled 50 test wells around UW Tacoma to get a handle on the problem, VanDusen said.
In 2002, a university consultant mapped seven plumes of contaminated groundwater beneath the campus. Tests found dangerous solvents and petroleum products below ground.
The contaminated groundwater could take years to reach the Foss Waterway and Commencement Bay, said Dave Lundstrom, the university’s manager of environmental programs.
“We’re primarily trying to find the source of it to determine who is responsible and what needs to be done,” he said. “It’s not a short-term concern, but it is a concern, and that’s why we’re investigating and want to clean it up.”
SEARCHING FOR SOURCES
The cleanup obligation adds to the development costs of the campus, which someday could expand to 46 acres, mostly uphill. So far, land acquisition and construction costs at UW Tacoma total more than $150 million.
The current UW budget includes $1.9 million to deal with contaminated soils, VanDusen said.
The state Department of Ecology has agreed to provide $60,000 toward the upcoming $100,000 investigation. University contractors will sink as many as six test wells into the ground near the intersection of South Market Street and South Jefferson Avenue. The goal is to identify the origin of a large plume of highly concentrated solvents previously detected in groundwater under a university parking lot.
“We need to resolve the source of these plumes to get to the cleanup plan,” said Leon Wilhelm, an Ecology Department environmental engineer.
At one point, a university consultant suggested that old city sewer lines might have leaked the solvent. But Tacoma officials dispute that.
“The city believes there are other much more likely sources,” said John O’Loughlin, an environmental scientist employed by the city. Several now-defunct businesses uphill from the UW campus used solvents to clean parts, he said.
Whether state officials will seek to recover the cost of cleanup from other parties is unclear. “We’ve tried to see if that’s possible. At this point there doesn’t seem to be any valid party out there,” VanDusen said.
SOME CLEANUP SET TO START
In the meantime, the university is about to begin treating underground contamination near the Pacific Gateway Plaza entrance to the campus, across Pacific Avenue from the Washington State History Museum.
Shaub-Ellison, a tire retailer and vehicle repair outfit, did business on the site before the garage was torn down to make way for the campus. Under the plaza, petroleum products contaminate the groundwater. Oil probably leaked from the garage floor, lube pit and underground storage tanks, Ecology Department officials said.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has granted the university about $200,000 to help pay for the Shaub-Ellison cleanup. The total estimated cost is nearly $980,000, VanDusen said.
The plan is to inject air into the ground to stimulate the growth of microorganisms that will break down the petroleum, Wilhelm said.
Milt Tremblay, UW Tacoma facilities director, said the Shaub-Ellison cleanup won’t disrupt campus activities. “All you will see above ground is a compressor,” he said. Workers will install the device in a flower bed. It will be insulated to reduce noise, he said.
UW TACOMA OBLIGATED TO CLEAN IT UP
In 1982, long before UW broke ground on the Tacoma campus, federal and state regulators targeted one parcel for cleanup. And university officials were aware of the problem when they chose to locate the campus where it stands today.
They knew the Cragle parcel, in the 1900 block of South C Street, was contaminated with various hazardous wastes and used oil. Two waste-handlers doing business there illegally discharged wastewater and abandoned other dangerous chemicals on the site, Ecology Department officials said.
In 1997, university officials formally agreed to clean up Cragle, along with most of the rest of the current campus, VanDusen said.
Workers began testing the soils in 1993. They removed underground tanks, dug up hundreds of truckloads of contaminated soil and treated it.
But as it turned out, groundwater uphill from the Cragle parcel also is contaminated.
“Some of it is originating elsewhere,” VanDusen said. “It’s important for us to determine so we can stop it from coming on to our property,” she said.
“The cleanup is costly. It really is. It is not an insignificant undertaking. But it ends up being a benefit to everybody,” VanDusen said.
READERS COMMENTS:
A big waste of time and money. The environmental zealots go beyond reason.
It would be interesting to know how much contaminating material was found in these test wells. The TNT should have provided this information in this article.