Cleanup at Fertilizer Manufacturer

Farallon managed the investigation and cleanup of 52,000 cubic yards of soil with concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, and mercury exceeding site-specific cleanup levels on a 50-acre facility in Yakima, Washington.  The source of the contamination was waste generated by a former fertilizer manufacturing facility that was spread via irrigation ditches. The cleanup action was conducted under a Consent Decree with Ecology and included preparation of a Feasibility Study, a Compliance Monitoring Plan, an Engineering Design Report, and construction plans and specifications for soil excavation and construction of a containment area.  The design documents included development of site-specific cleanup levels for metals in soil, groundwater modeling to confirm that the concentrations of metals in groundwater were static, and fate and transport modeling for selection of an on-site containment system.  The cleanup action included excavation of soil with concentrations of one or more of the metals above cleanup levels and consolidation on the Site in a cell with an engineered cap suitable for placement of a paved roadway. The cleanup action also involved institutional controls, including scheduled inspection and maintenance and a Restrictive Covenant. The cleanup action successfully met the requirements of Ecology to protect human health and the environmental, and no further cleanup is required.