Facility Site ID: 85933 Cleanup Site ID: 15271

  • Site Status

  • Cleanup Started
Nov. 14
8:00 am
Dec. 18
11:59 pm

Public Comment Period

Eatonville Landfill is ready to move to the next cleanup stage!

Four documents are available for your review and comment. The fact sheet summarizes the key points from these documents.

  1. Consent Decree
  2. Draft Cleanup Action Plan
  3. Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study
  4. SEPA Determination of Non-Significance

Submit your comment between November 14th at 8:00 AM and December 18th at 11:59 PM.

We held a public meeting and open house on Wednesday, December 4 from 5:00 to 7:30 PM. The meeting was at the Eatonville Community Center. Slides from the presentation are available here.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Carolyn.Subramaniam@ecy.wa.gov.

Site Cleanup History

Ecology placed the site on the Contaminated Sites List in 2020.

In 2021, Ecology, the Town of Eatonville, and Weyerhaeuser Company entered Agreed Order DE 20072. The Town of Eatonville and Weyerhaeuser are the potentially liable persons (PLPs) responsible for investigation and cleanup of the site.

The Agreed Order required the PLPs to complete a Remedial Investigation (RI) Work Plan and RI report. The RI report identified the type of contamination and where it is found at the site. The Agreed Order also required the PLPs to complete a Feasibility Study (FS) that compares alternative cleanup methods. Then, the PLPs used the information in the RI/FS to complete a preliminary draft cleanup action plan describing which method will be used to clean up the Site. Ecology used the preliminary plan to prepare the draft Cleanup Action Plan (dCAP).

The RI/FS and draft Cleanup Action Plan are now complete and will be available for public comment. Ecology and the PLPs will enter a new legal agreement, Consent Decree, to implement the cleanup actions. These documents are summarized in the fact sheet.

Site Description

Uncovered waste on a steep slope in the landfill
Uncovered waste on a steep slope in the landfill

The Site is near the Town of Eatonville in rural Pierce County. The town leased the property from Weyerhaeuser to use as a dump from about 1950 to 1980.

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

  • municipal solid waste
  • appliances
  • car parts and tires
  • empty drums
  • pollution from waste burning 
  • pollution from recreational firearm shooting
  • other types of waste

The landfill does not have a liner below the trash.  This allowed pollution to move down into soil and groundwater.

Nisqually State Park surrounds the landfill. There is no fence to prevent people and animals from walking through the debris at the Site.

The landfill is on a very steep slope. There is a wetland at the lower end and at the base of the landfill. Water from the wetland flows downstream about ¼ mile to 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.

Contamination

Ecology placed Eatonville Landfill on the Contaminated Sites List due to the following contaminants of concern. These contaminants were found in soil, groundwater, or surface water:

  • Metals: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, hexavalent chromium, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc
  • Semi Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs): pentachlorophenol (PCP) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs)
  • Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH): gasoline, diesel, and oil-range organic compounds
Legal 6
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Eatonville Landfill Consent Decree 8/13/2024 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 Town of Eatonville 7/12/2021 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Eatonville Landfill - Final PLP Notice to Weyerhaeuser 7/12/2021 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Eatonville Landfill - Early Notice Letter 9/22/2020 Early Notice Letter
Public Information 5
Document Title Document Date Document Type
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 17
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Eatonville Landfill Draft Cleanup Action Plan 7/22/2024 Cleanup Action Plan
Eatonville Landfill Public Review Draft RIFS Appendices 2/26/2024 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Eatonville Landfill Public Review Draft RIFS Text Table and Figure 2/26/2024 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Eatonville Landfill Site - RI/FS Comment Response Schedule Extension 5/30/2023 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill RI Work Plan App C HSP 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 A SAP 9/7/2021 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Eatonville Landfill RI Work Plan Text 9/7/2021 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Eatonville Landfill - Weyerhaeuser Signed PLP Waiver (Kristen Sawin) 6/25/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Eatonville Landfill - Town of Eatonville Signed PLP Waiver (Mayor Mike Schaub) 6/25/2021 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 - Preliminary PLP Notice to Town of Eatonville 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.
  • Eatonville Library
    205 Center Street
    Eatonville, 98328
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.

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.