Site owner Northwest Alloys, Inc. recently received the US Army Corps of Engineers permit needed to conduct the cleanup activities required by the Consent Decree.  Construction will begin in spring 2023 and take two construction seasons to complete. Completion of construction is anticipated in fall of 2024.

Cleanup actions include:   

• Excavation, consolidation and capping of the larger waste/contaminated soil deposits.
• Removal and offsite disposal to address petroleum contamination.
• Installation of permeable reactive barriers in key areas will further reduce the potential for migration of fluoride in groundwater as contamination continues to diminish naturally.
• Restrictions placed on the property deed to limit the use of shallow groundwater and ensure that the cleanup features (low permeability caps, fences, monitoring system, etc.) will remain in-place.
• Ongoing monitoring to ensure that the success of the cleanup will be measured and tracked through time.

Sign up to receive notices about the cleanup by e-mail. If you'd like to receive notice by mail, send your request and contact information to Tara Roberts at tara.roberts@ecy.wa.gov or (360) 280-4325.

 

Reynolds Metals constructed and operated an aluminum smelter and cable mill on the Columbia River in Longview, WA from 1941-2001. Portions of the site were contaminated by these activities.  Soils show elevated levels of fluoride and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), and groundwater contains fluoride and PAHs.

A Cleanup Action Plan for the project was finalized in late 2018. Since then site owner Northwest Alloys, Inc. has been working to complete the engineering design and acquire the necessary permits to complete the work.

The cleanup will focus on:  

• 12 distinct site units containing fluoride and/or PAHs compounds in soil.
• Two areas of shallow groundwater containing fluoride.
• A small area containing petroleum hydrocarbons that was identified within the eastern portion of the site during demolition activities.

For more information, read the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study. This is a support document to the Consent Decree that identifies contamination at the site and cleanup options evaluated.