Intalco Aluminum Corp Ferndale
Background
Beach 1 landfill (BI, closed November 29, 2005), Beach 2 landfill (BII, closed November 25, 2005), and the Closed Construction Debris Landfill (CCDL, closed October 4, 2006), contained solid waste and construction debris. Testing at these sites found chemicals of concern, including:
- Fluoride, aluminum, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, PCBs, and PAHs in the groundwater.
- Fluoride and aluminum in the surface water.
- PCBs, PAHs, and fluoride in the soil.
In response to this concern, waste from the BI and BII landfills were moved to the Double-Lined and Triple-Lined landfills. The cleanup of the CCDL included stabilizing slopes and installing a protective cover.
- The Double-Lined Landfill (DLL), closed September 14, 2007, contains solid waste and construction debris.
- The Triple-Lined Landfill (TLL), closed November 28, 2012, contains dangerous waste (spent potliner), solid waste, and construction debris.
Since this was done, contamination from the landfills has been below levels of concern. Long term monitoring for fluoride, weak acid dissociable cyanide, and total PCBs from BI, BII, and the CCDL is required.
Site use restrictions called institutional controls are in effect
Institutional controls can be fences, signs, or restrictions on how the property is used. For instance, an institutional control may prohibit installing drinking water wells or disturbing a protective cap that isolates contamination. These restrictions keep the contamination contained and keep people from being exposed to the contamination. The controls are usually listed in environmental covenants recorded with the county.
Periodic reviews are required when institutional controls are required at a site. Ecology conducts reviews to make sure the controls remain effective and the cleanup still protects human health and the environment. We conduct periodic reviews about every five years.
Institutional Controls 3
Environmental Covenant
Restrictions/Requirements
- Prevent the Reuse or Relocation of Site Soil
- Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
- Restrict Land Use
Restricted Media
- Groundwater
- Soil
Environmental Covenant
Restrictions/Requirements
- Prevent the Reuse or Relocation of Site Soil
- Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
- Restrict Land Use
Restricted Media
- Groundwater
- Soil
Environmental Covenant
Restrictions/Requirements
- Prevent the Reuse or Relocation of Site Soil
- Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
- Restrict Land Use
Restricted Media
- Groundwater
- Soil
Documents 29
Legal 8
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Intalco-Altagas-Draft Corrective Action-Agreed Order | 2/17/2026 | Agreed Order |
| Intalco Final PLP Letter-Altagas | 12/4/2023 | Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter |
| Intalco Final Potentially Liable Person Letter | 8/8/2023 | Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter |
| Intalco Triple Lined Landfill Restrictive Covenant | 3/26/2012 | Environmental Covenant; Alternative Mechanism |
| Intalco Beach I and Beach II Landfills Restrictive Covenant | 2/25/2008 | Environmental Covenant; Alternative Mechanism |
| Intalco Double-Lined and Closed Construction Debris Landfills Restrictive Covenant | 2/25/2008 | Environmental Covenant; Alternative Mechanism |
| Alcoa Intalco Works Landfills Consent Decree 07-2-00181-2 | 2/2/2007 | Consent Decree |
| Intalco Landfills Agreed Order DE 01 TCPIS 2949 | 7/1/2001 | Agreed Order |
Map 1
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Alcoa Intalco Works Site Overview | 9/16/2004 | Map |
Outreach Information 4
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Intalco-Aluminum-Corp-Public Notice-Agreed Order-Demolition Interim Action Work Plan-Public Participation Plan | 2/18/2026 | Fact Sheet\Public Notices |
| Intalco-Aluminum-Corp-Draft-Public-Participation-Plan | 2/4/2026 | Public Participation Plan |
| Intalco Consent Decree 07-2-00181-2 Public Notice | 7/26/2006 | Fact Sheet\Public Notices |
| Intalco Agreed Order DE 01 TCPIS 2949 Public Notice | 4/23/2001 | Fact Sheet\Public Notices |
Technical Reports 16
Contaminants 7
| Contaminant Type | Soil |
Groundwater |
Surface Water |
Air |
Sediment |
Bedrock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metals - Metals - Other | S | |||||
| Halogenated Organics - Polychlorinated biPhenyls (PCB) | B | B | B | S | ||
| Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | B | B | S | |||
| Other Contaminant - Conventional Contaminants, Organic | B | S | B | |||
| Other Contaminant - Conventional Contaminants, Inorganic | B | B | B | |||
| Other Contaminant - Bioassay Benthic Failures | S | |||||
| 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
Public Comment Period
Submit comments
Using the online comment form
Or
By mail (postmarked by 11:59 pm, April 15, 2026) to:
Greg Gould
Department of Ecology
Industrial Section
P.O. Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600
Public events
A tentative virtual public hearing to accept oral comments is scheduled for April 8, 2026 at 6:00 pm on ZOOM. Register online. Registration is required. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the hearing. The public hearing will be held if Ecology received significant public interest. Ecology will notify interested parties prior to cancelling the tentative public hearing if we have not received significant interest by April 6, 2026.
If you would like to be added to the list of interested parties for the Intalco site and receive
updates on Ecology’s Industrial Section actions at the site, contact Tara Roberts at tara.roberts@ecy.wa.gov.
When the comment period ends, we'll review the comments received and make a final decision on the documents.
Review the documents:
Draft Agreed Order: requires Intalco Aluminum LLC and Petrogas Pacific LLC to develop a Remedial Investigation Work Plan, conduct a Remedial Investigation, implement a
Demolition Interim Action Work Plan, conduct other interim actions if required or agreed to by Ecology, develop a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Report, and develop a Draft Cleanup Action Plan to select cleanup alternatives.
Public Participation Plan: describes ways Ecology will inform the public about contamination
investigations and cleanup options throughout the cleanup process. Ecology encourages the public to learn about and get involved in decision-making opportunities. This plan identifies how and when the public can get involved during different stages of the investigation and cleanup of contamination.
Demolition Interim Action Work Plan (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3): provides a plan for cleanup activities that may occur during the demolition and removal of the old smelter infrastructure (buildings, pipes, storage tanks, etc). The plan specifies how contaminated soil will be identified during demolition and how the contaminated soil will be removed to reduce potential threats to human health and the environment prior to the remedial investigation and feasibility study in the Order. On March 19, 2025, Whatcom County issued a SEPA Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance for the Intalco Site Wide Demolition Project which covered the demolition activities at the site.