Facility Site ID: 1325 Cleanup Site ID: 141

  • Site Status

  • Cleanup Started

Site Description

Visit the project home page for more information and the latest news about this cleanup: https://ecology.wa.gov/Spills-Cleanup/Contamination-cleanup/Cleanup-sites/Toxic-cleanup-sites/UW-Tacoma

The University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) site is on about fifty acres in south downtown Tacoma. The site includes a mix of old and current building development, ranging from new construction to structures over a century old. 
 
This part of downtown has a long industrial legacy that caused soil and groundwater to be contaminated with:
  • petroleum hydrocarbons
  • polyaromatic hydrocarbons in soil
  • volatile organic compounds in groundwater, especially tri- and tetrachloroethene

Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program is now the lead for the site and has developed a new Agreed Order to include the expanded site footprint and focus on area-wide groundwater contamination, now considered the principal environmental issue.

In the 1980s, there was a dangerous waste management facility, Arrcom Inc. at the site. They closed and Washington State took over the site along with an adjacent property in the 1990s. In 1997, UWT and Ecology signed a Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) Agreed Order (AO) to start site cleanup. Under the terms of the AO, UWT accepts responsibility as liable party and agrees to work on remedial actions to clean up soil and groundwater at the site.

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Legal 11
Document Title Document Date Document Type
WA UW Tacoma Branch 10/5/2023 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
UW WA Tacoma Branch - Final PLP Determination - Kissler Enterprises LP 3/4/2020 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
UW WA Tacoma Branch - Final PLP Determination - 1722 Tacoma Ave LLC 3/4/2020 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
UW WA Tacoma Branch - Final PLP Determination - 1920 Tacoma Ave LLC 3/4/2020 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Final 2016 UW Tacoma Agreed Order 5/18/2016 Agreed Order
AO UW SIG DRAFT 12/14/2015 Agreed Order
First Amendment to Agreed Order DE 97HW-S238 3/19/2013 Agreed Order Amendment
First Amendment to Agreed Order No. DE 97HW-S238 Exhibit E 7/1/2012 Agreed Order Amendment
First Amendment to Agreed Order No. DE 97HW-S238 Exhibit B 7/1/2012 Agreed Order Amendment
First Amendment to Agreed Order No. DE 97HW-S238 Exhibit A 7/1/2012 Agreed Order Amendment
Agreed Order DE 97HW-S238 10/1/1997 Agreed Order
Public Information 4
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Construction update mailer 7/18/2016 Focus Sheet
UW Tacoma AO Responsiveness Summary 5/12/2016 Responsiveness Summary
UW Tacoma Site Agreed Order Fact Sheet 3/16/2016 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
UW Tacoma Public Participation Plan 3/4/2016 Public Participation Plan
State Environmental Policy Act 1
Document Title Document Date Document Type
UW-Tacoma Howe Parcel SEPA Checklist 11/7/2012 SEPA Documents
Technical Reports 26
Document Title Document Date Document Type
City of Tacoma Prelim PLP response 7/7/2023 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
UW-T RI (Draft) Part 2 6/30/2023 Remedial Investigation Report
UW-T RI (Draft) Part 1 6/30/2023 Remedial Investigation Report
WA UW Tacoma Branch - PLP Notice Letter; Request to Extend Response Date to July 7, 2023 6/21/2023 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
WA UW Tacoma Branch - Preliminary Determination of Liability for the Rel 5/17/2023 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
UW Tacoma Campus - Request for AO Extension - DE 11081 9/14/2022 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
WA UW Tacoma Branch - AO RI/FS Extension Request Approval 5/26/2022 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
UW Tacoma Campus - Request for AO Extension - DE 11081 12/8/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
UW-T Academic Building_Birmingham Air Report 2020 8/11/2020 Site Specific Technical Document - other
WA UW Tacoma Branch - Request for Extension to Agreed Order No. DE11081 6/23/2020 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
2020 Site Assessment Ltr Report (1920 Tacoma Ave LLC) 3/9/2020 Remedial Investigation Report
Preliminary Determination of PLP 9/11/2019 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Preliminary Determination of PLP 9/11/2019 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Preliminary Determination of PLP 9/11/2019 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
UWT Potential Sources 3_4_5_6_7 letter 2/27/2019 Site Specific Technical Document - other
UWT Howe Vapor Intrusion Report 7/26/2018 Interim Action Documents
UWT 2016 Field Investigation Data Report 12/20/2017 Remedial Investigation Report
Proposed Payment Plan for Ecology Charges Related to AO DE11081 5/16/2017 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
UWT Agreed Order Work Plan (small) 7/7/2016 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Z-1 Environmental Subsurface Investigation 2013 12/19/2015 Remedial Investigation Report
UWT McDonald Smith Building Subsurface Investigation and GW Monitoring Report 2/4/2015 Remedial Investigation Report
UWT Urban Solutions Building Subsurface Investigation 1/23/2015 Remedial Investigation Report
UWT 2013 Environmental Subsurface Investigation 12/19/2014 Remedial Investigation Report
2013 Environmental Subsurface Investigation Appendix F 12/19/2014 Remedial Investigation Report
2013 Environmental Subsurface Investigation (Marv Comments and Questions) 12/19/2014 Remedial Investigation Report
Amendment1 Exhibit C Final IAWPUWT Howe parcel 7/1/2012 Remedial Investigation Report
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Southwest Regional Office
    300 Desmond Dr SE
    Lacey, 98503-1274
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.
  • UW Tacoma Library - Tioga Library Building
    1907 Jefferson Ave
    Tacoma, 98402
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.
  • Citizens for a Healthy Bay
    535 Dock St., Suite 213
    Tacoma, 98402
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.

Contaminants 3

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Other Contaminant - Base/Neutral/Acid Organics C C
Halogenated Organics - Halogenated Organics C C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum Products-Unspecified C C
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.