Eastern State Hospital Landfill
Work Ongoing To Put Out Underground Fire, Full Investigation To Follow
In August 2023, the Gray Road Fire burned in and around the Medical Lake community, including parts of DSHS’s Eastern State Hospital property and the landfill area. After the Gray Road Fire was out, DSHS staff discovered the historic landfill was burning underground.
Spokane County Fire District 3 attempted to put the fire out with water. After several months of failed attempts, Fire District 3 decided to leave the fire over the winter, hoping it would burn out in the cooler weather and snow.
On February 8, 2024, Fire District 3 reported the underground fire through our Environmental Reports Tracking System. We completed an initial investigation and added the landfill to the Contaminated Sites List the next day. On February 12, we notified the DSHS of the landfill being added to the list.
Radioactive material was initially suspected due to the landfill being near a hospital. Scans completed by the Air Force reportedly did not detect radioactive material. The landfill appears to mostly contain tiles, concrete, insulation, and other building debris.
In the spring, the fire was still burning despite Fire District 3’s continued efforts. DSHS removed trees, brush, and other ignitable material around the smoldering area. DSHS put clean soil over the smoldering area. This action has been successful at controlling emissions and reducing the risks posed from open flames.
Fire District 3 continues to monitor the situation. We are working with our Air Quality Program to monitor air quality in the vicinity of the landfill. We are regularly monitoring surface temperatures with a drone.
We began negotiating a legal agreement called an Agreed Order to put the fire out in May 2024. Further steps proposed in the Agreed Order to put the fire out include:
- Continuing to restrict all public access to the site
- Identifying the extent of elevated temperatures or fire in the subsurface
- Developing a plan to excavate and hose down any burning material in metal boxes
- The following actions, if needed:
- Properly disposing excavated waste and soil
- Removing contaminated building or other structural material
- Capping waste
- Cleaning up groundwater
- Installing systems to catch runoff to protect West Medical Lake and stabilize the shoreline
After confirming the fire is out, DSHS will fully investigate the contents of the landfill and whether they have contaminated soil and groundwater. The feasibility study will evaluate options for cleaning up the landfill and any contamination it has caused. These activities are required by the Agreed Order.
Landfill History
Documents 11
Legal 3
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Agreed Order for IA & RI/FS: ESH Landfill | 10/14/2024 | Agreed Order |
| Eastern State Hospital Final PLP Status Letter | 4/15/2024 | Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter |
| WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - ENL | 2/12/2024 | Early Notice Letter |
Public Information 2
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Public Participation Plan: Eastern State Hospital Landfill | 10/14/2024 | Public Participation Plan |
| Draft legal agreement and public participation plan ready for public comment: ESH Landfill | 10/14/2024 | Fact Sheet\Public Notices |
Technical Reports 6
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| 16994 WADSH Eastern State Hospital 20240919 | 9/19/2024 | Site Hazard Assessment Report |
| Eastern State Hospital Landfill - Preliminary Determination of Liability for Release | 3/14/2024 | Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence) |
| WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Ecology Initial Investigation | 2/9/2024 | Initial Investigation Report |
| WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Report of Findings for the Analysis of Leachable RCRA Metals | 12/6/2023 | Site Specific Technical Document - other |
| WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Findings for the Analysis of Leachable Lead Content | 12/5/2023 | Site Specific Technical Document - other |
| WA DSHS Eastern State Hospital - Asbestos Survey | 12/5/2023 | Site Specific Technical Document - other |
Places to see print documents
-
Eastern Regional OfficeN 4601 Monroe StSpokane, 99205-1265Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.
Contaminants 7
| Contaminant Type | Soil |
Groundwater |
Surface Water |
Air |
Sediment |
Bedrock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metals - Metals - Other | S | |||||
| Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | S | |||||
| Other Contaminant - Radioactive Wastes | S | |||||
| Metals - Arsenic | S | |||||
| Metals - Lead | S | |||||
| Metals - Mercury | S | |||||
| Non-Halogenated Organics - Other Non-Halogenated Organics | S |
- S
- Suspected
- C
- Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
- B
- Below Cleanup Levels
- RA
- Remediated-Above
- RB
- Remediated-Below
- R
- Remediated
Draft Agreed Order And Public Participation Plan Available For Comment
You are invited to review and comment on the draft agreed order and public participation plan. The order requires the Washington Department of Social and Health Services to complete:
The plan describes how you will be informed and can comment during the cleanup process. You can learn more in the public notice that we mailed to the community.
Review the draft documents
Please contact Erika Beresovoy at Erika.Beresovoy@ecy.wa.gov or 509-385-2290 if you need print documents.
Submit comments via email, mail, or online by 11:59 p.m. on 11/14 to:
Kristin Beck, kristin.beck@ecy.wa.gov
4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane, WA 99205
Online comment form
Next steps
Ecology will review all comments received during the comment period and update the draft documents if needed. If no significant changes are made, they will become final. If significant changes are made, an additional public comment period will be held. We will hold a public meeting if 10 or more people request one.