Morningside Acres

Last updated: October 2024

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The Department of Ecology (Ecology) is overseeing a cleanup of the Morningside Acres Site (Site) in the Columbia City neighborhood of South Seattle. SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), a non-profit community development corporation based in South Seattle, is cleaning up this Site. We invite you to comment on the following documents:

• Prospective Purchaser Consent Decree (PPCD): a legal agreement that directs the purchaser(s) to implement cleanup at the site and provides the purchaser(s) a settlement of liability.
  
  
• Public Participation Plan: a document that explains how people can participate in the cleanup process.

Join us for an open house!
Drop in during this two-hour open house for a conversation about this cleanup site. Phone interpretation available in Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Somali, Amharic, and Arabic. All ages welcome and light food provided.

• Tuesday, October 22, 2024
• 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
• L.E.M.S Bookstore, 5023 Rainier Ave S

Register for the online open house.

Ecology will consider all comments received and may amend the documents based on your comments. After that, the PPCD and Public Participation Plan will be finalized, and the formal cleanup process will begin. A Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study will then be completed. Results from the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study will lead to a Cleanup Action Plan. Drafts of the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study as well as the Cleanup Action Plan will be available for public review and comment.

Join our email list to receive updates about the Morningside Acres cleanup site. Email Kristen Forkeutis, Public Involvement Coordinator, at Kristen.Forkeutis@ecy.wa.gov to be added to the list. Unsubscribe at any time.

The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) is Washington’s environmental cleanup law. It provides requirements for contaminated site cleanup and sets standards that protect human health and the environment.  Ecology enacts MTCA and oversees cleanups. The MTCA site cleanup process is completed in steps over a variable timeline.

The Morningside Acres cleanup site is in South Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood at 5001, 5015, and 5021 Rainier Avenue South. Ecology, with SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), has prioritized cleanup of the site in conjunction with redevelopment of the property as a mixed-use building. The redevelopment will combine affordable housing and commercial spaces, transforming a contaminated site into a vibrant economic development hub. SEED is cleaning up the site under a legal agreement, called a Prospective Purchaser Consent Decree (PPCD), with Ecology. The need for a PPCD at this Site arises from the historical uses at the property. 

Prior investigations have confirmed the presence of contaminants in the soil, soil gas, and groundwater of the Site. Contamination is related to historical automotive repair and parts washing facilities on the South Parcel, former gasoline service stations on the North Parcel, and historical underground storage tanks on the South and North Parcels associated with those businesses. The known contaminants include:

• Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOC)
• Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)
• Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons (VPH)

These contaminants have been detected at concentrations above the state’s cleanup levels.

Washington is in dire need of affordable housing across the state. Contamination, or even the suspicion of contamination, drives up the cost of housing development. The high cost leaves little incentive for developers to build affordable housing.

In addition to the usual risks of redevelopment, cleaning up contaminated sites can be a complex process with considerable risk. The cost and time associated with cleaning up a site is often poorly understood; as a result, many sites are left vacant or underused for years, even decades. Supporting cleanups for affordable housing helps ensure the cleanup gets done while protecting the community’s health and the environment.

SEED has applied for funding from Ecology’s Affordable Housing Cleanup Grant Program (AHCGP), which helps advance environmental cleanups for affordable housing developments. These grants can cover remedial action costs, including the planning, investigative, and technical work needed to clean up contaminated sites. The purpose of the AHCGP is to expedite the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites into affordable housing and lessen the impact of cleanup costs.

What's In My Neighborhood shows contamination cleanup sites in Washington state. Ecology encourages cleanup of these sites to protect the health of people, plants and animals.  Cleanups are projects that remove, treat, or contain potentially harmful substances.

To report an environmental problem or concern, any time, day or night, use the online reporting form.

Counties: Island, King, Kitsap, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom
Email: nwroerts@ecy.wa.gov
Phone: 206-594-0000

Ecology is committed to providing people with disabilities access to information and services. To request an ADA accommodation, contact Ecology by phone at 360-407-6831, email ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or visit ecology.wa.gov/Accessibility. For Relay Service or TTY call 711 or 877-833-6341.

If you speak a non-English language, free language services are available.

This site is in our Voluntary Cleanup Program, which provides technical help to owners of contaminated sites.

Voluntary Cleanup Program customers pay fees to cover our costs for technical help and reviewing cleanup reports. Sites in this program must meet the same cleanup standards as sites Ecology manages under legal orders.