Eatonville Landfill

This site is currently in the cleanup phase. Removal of waste and contaminated soils and habitat restoration are scheduled for 2025 and 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact Sam Meng, cleanup project manager, at sam.meng@ecy.wa.gov.

To learn more about cleanups under the Model Toxics Control Act, please visit our agency website.

The cleanup site is inside Nisqually State Park, near the Town of Eatonville in rural Pierce County. The landfill is on a very steep slope, with a wetland at the base. Water from the wetland flows downstream, eventually reaching the Mashel River. The Mashel River is a major tributary of the Nisqually River. Both rivers provide key habitat for fall Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

The Nisqually Indian Tribe holds fishing, hunting, and gathering rights in the Nisqually watershed. The area around the site is culturally important to them.

From about 1950 to 1980, the Town of Eatonville leased a parcel from Weyerhaeuser Company to use as a dump. The landfill did not have a liner below the trash. This allowed pollution from the waste to move down into soil, groundwater, and surface water.

The landfill is about two acres in size. It contains:

• Household waste       
• Appliances
• Car parts and tires 
• Empty drums that were used to hold chemicals
• Pollution from recreational firearm shooting
• Other types of waste

Ecology placed the site on the Contaminated Sites List in 2020. Then, Ecology determined that the Town of Eatonville and Weyerhaeuser are the potentially liable persons responsible for investigation and cleanup at this site.

In 2021, Ecology, the town, and Weyerhaeuser signed a legal agreement, Agreed Order DE 20072. This agreement required the town and Weyerhaeuser to:

• Study the site to learn what kind of contamination is there (a Remedial Investigation) 
• Compare different options for how to clean up the contamination (a Feasibility Study)
• Suggest a cleanup option to Ecology (a preliminary draft Cleanup Action Plan)

In 2025, Ecology, the town, and Weyerhaeuser signed another legal agreement, Consent Decree No. 25-2-07149-4. This agreement requires the town and Weyerhaeuser to follow Ecology’s plan to clean up the site.

The cleanup plan divides the site into two areas: the landfill area (orange) and wetland area (yellow). Most of the waste is in the steeply sloped landfill area. However, some waste has also fallen into the wetland area at the base of the slope. 

• In the landfill area, all waste (about 21,500 cubic yards) and contaminated soils (about 1,800 cubic yards) will be removed. 
• In the wetland area, as much waste as possible will be removed, without disrupting the ecosystem. Then, we will monitor natural recovery to make sure the cleanup is working as planned. 

Any disturbed areas will be replanted to restore the habitat. Ecology will also set Institutional Controls to prevent human exposure to contamination.

• No entry to the wetland area until soil contamination from gasoline, diesel, and oil reduces. 
• No drinking or skin contact with groundwater from any area of the site or surface water from the landfill area. This restriction will last until levels of hexavalent chromium and zinc reduce.

To learn more about the cleanup plan, please read our November 2024 fact sheet. To see more photos of the site, please check out the PowerPoint from our December 4, 2024, public meeting at the Eatonville Community Center.