Louisiana Pacific Corp

The Louisiana Pacific Corp (aka Pony Lumber) site is located at 3701 Taylor Way in Tacoma. The site, which is owned by the Port of Tacoma, is currently leased for equipment storage.
 
From 1968 to 1969, Louisiana Pacific Corporation (Louisiana Pacific) developed the property as a log yard. About 1,800 tons of smelter slag from the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) in Tacoma was used on the site as ballast to keep heavy equipment from sinking into the soft soil. In 2004, Louisiana Pacific sold the property to Pony Lumber Company, which then sold the property to the Port of Tacoma in 2006.
 
From 1983 to 1984, Ecology surveyed log yards as possible sources of metal contamination in Commencement Bay sediments. Water samples taken around the site found arsenic, copper, lead, and zinc at concentrations exceeding cleanup criteria.  In 1987 and 1990, Ecology issued orders requiring Louisiana Pacific to investigate the site, conduct a feasibility study, and prepare a design for capping the site.
 
In 1993, Louisiana Pacific began building a cap over the site. The cap was designed to prevent stormwater from percolating into the slag and carrying contaminants into Hylebos Waterway. The reinforced concrete cap includes a storm water collection system and monitoring wells. 
 
In 1993, Louisiana Pacific recorded an environmental covenant for the site. The covenant prohibits activities that could result in the release of contaminants that remain at the site.

Groundwater monitoring has been conducted at the site since 1995. Ecology issued a No Further Action determination for the site in 1997. Beginning in 1998, Ecology approved reducing the frequency of groundwater sampling from quarterly to annually and then to once every two years starting in 2000. In September 2011, Ecology and the Port of Tacoma entered into an agreement for the Port to monitor groundwater and inspect the cap every 30 months.

Ecology completed a periodic review of the Louisiana Pacific Corp site in 2011, 2016, and 2025. Ecology conducts periodic reviews about every 5 years, because contamination remains at this site. This is to ensure the cleanup still protects human health and the environment.

The 2025 report found that the cap is working and doesn’t need repairs. The inspection noted minor cracks in the cap which should be evaluated during the next cap inspection event. Groundwater samples from 2024 show that concentrations of all contaminants of concern are below cleanup levels. The property owner, the Port of Tacoma, is responsible for ensuring the cap is maintained and conducting groundwater monitoring every 30 months. The next periodic review will be in five years.