Eatonville Landfill

Facility Site ID: 85933 Cleanup Site ID: 15271

  • Site Status

  • Cleanup Started

Site Status

We are currently in the "clean up the site!" phase shown in blue.
We are currently in the "clean up the site!" phase shown in blue.

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.

Location

A map showing the approximate location of Eatonville Landfill within Nisqually State Park.
A map showing the approximate location of Eatonville Landfill within Nisqually State Park.
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.

History

Landfill waste is on a steep slope.
Landfill waste is on a steep slope.

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

Cleanup Work

To design the cleanup, the site was divided into the landfill area (orange) and wetland area (yellow).
To design the cleanup, the site was divided into the landfill area (orange) and wetland area (yellow).

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. 

Legal 6
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Eatonville Landfill Consent Decree 3/20/2025 Consent Decree
Eatonville Landfill - Project Coordinator Change Notification 2/21/2022 Agreed Order Amendment
Eatonville Landfill - Agreed Order DE 20072 8/2/2021 Agreed Order
Eatonville Landfill - Final PLP Notice to Weyerhaeuser 7/12/2021 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Eatonville Landfill - Final PLP Notice to Town of Eatonville 7/12/2021 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Eatonville Landfill - Early Notice Letter 9/22/2020 Early Notice Letter
Outreach Information 6
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Eatonville Landfill Responsiveness Summary 1/7/2025 Responsiveness Summary
Eatonville Landfill 2024 Public Meeting Presentation 12/4/2024 Multimedia
Eatonville Landfill Cleanup Site: Public Comment Invited 10/24/2024 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
Eatonville Landfill Agreed Order Responsiveness Summary 12/22/2021 Responsiveness Summary
Eatonville Landfill Fact Sheet for Agreed Order and Public Participation Plan 8/5/2021 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
Eatonville Landfill Public Participation Plan 8/2/2021 Public Participation Plan
State Environmental Policy Act 1
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Eatonville Landfill SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance 10/23/2024 SEPA Documents
Technical Reports 18
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Eatonville Landfill Engineering Design Report 2/25/2025 Engineering Design Report
Eatonville Landfill RIFS Text Table and Figure 1/31/2025 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Eatonville Landfill RIFS Appendices 1/31/2025 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Eatonville Landfill Cleanup Action Plan 1/31/2025 Cleanup Action Plan
Eatonville Landfill Site - RI/FS Comment Response Schedule Extension 5/30/2023 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill RI Work Plan Text 9/7/2021 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Eatonville Landfill RI Work Plan App A SAP 9/7/2021 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Eatonville Landfill RI Work Plan App B QAPP 9/7/2021 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Eatonville Landfill RI Work Plan App C HSP 9/7/2021 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Eatonville Landfill - Town of Eatonville Signed PLP Waiver (Mayor Mike Schaub) 6/25/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill - Weyerhaeuser Signed PLP Waiver (Kristen Sawin) 6/25/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill - Preliminary PLP Notice to Town of Eatonville 6/23/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill - Preliminary PLP Notice to Weyerhaeuser 6/23/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill Jan 2021 Sampling Analytical Results 1/29/2021 Progress Report
Former Eatonville Landfill - Response to Ecology 10/14/2020 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Former Eatonville Landfill Initial Investigation 6/1/2020 Initial Investigation Report
Technical Review of Eatonville Landfill Closure Options 9/30/2014 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Eatonville Landfill Site Investigation and Preliminary Economic Analysis for Corrective Action Alternatives 11/7/1996 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
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.

Contaminants 8

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Metals - Metals - Other C C C
Halogenated Organics - Polychlorinated biPhenyls (PCB) C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons C
Metals - Arsenic C
Metals - Lead C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Diesel C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Gasoline C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Other 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.