Burlington Environmental LLC Washougal

Cleanup process moves forward! 

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) held a public comment period between September 27, 2021 and November 26, 2021 for the following draft cleanup documents for the Burlington Environmental, LLC Washougal facility:

• Agreed Order (AO) 4308
• Permit for Corrective Action
• Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
• Public Participation Plan

Ecology received three comments. Based on an evaluation of the comments, no changes were necessary and the cleanup documents are now final. The response to comments can be found at:

Response to Comments Burlington Environmental LLC Washougal

As required in the Permit for Corrective Action and AO 4308, Burlington will finalize cleanup reports (RI/FS), monitor groundwater, and with Ecology oversight develop a cleanup action plan (dCAP). When the dCAP is ready, Burlington will be required to do a permit modification, and Ecology will hold another comment period.

The 5.2 acre Burlington Environmental LLC facility is located at 632 South 32nd Street in Washougal, Clark County, Washington in the Camas Washougal Industrial Park.

Burlington Environmental, LLC (Burlington) is the potentially liable party responsible for cleanup of the site.

Beginning in 1978, the Burlington property was owned and operated by several different businesses for industrial operations related to the paper industry and dangerous waste handling, including waste oil and solvent recovery, drum storage, and oil storage and blending. Starting in 1985, Burlington owned and operated a dangerous waste management facility on the property and was subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permitting requirements.

RCRA and Washington State’s Dangerous Waste Regulations require a facility that treats, stores, or disposes of dangerous wastes to have a dangerous waste permit (permit) until completing all activities—including corrective action and final closure. In 2002 before the permit expired, Burlington closed all of the identified dangerous waste management units, but there was remaining contamination. 

Past activities from Burlington and previous owners resulted in spills and releases at the site over time, which contaminated soil and groundwater.

• 1,1-dichloroethene (chemical cleaning liquid)
• Benzene (a liquid in gasoline)
• Toluene (a liquid in gasoline)
• Xylenes (a liquid in gasoline)
• Ethylbenzene (a liquid in gasoline)
• Chloroethane (chemical cleaning liquid)
• Freon 113 (cooling gas used in refrigeration)
• cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (chemical cleaning liquid)
• Tetrachloroethene (chemical cleaning liquid)
• Trichloroethene (chemical cleaning liquid)
• Vinyl chloride (cancer-causing chemical)
• 1,4-dioxane (cancer-causing chemical)

These chemicals may be dangerous to human health and the environment.

In Washington State, we've identified over 13,000 contaminated sites in need of cleanup. Over 7,000 of those sites have been cleaned up, and 200 to 300 new sites are reported every year. To learn more, go to:

• What's in My Neighborhood? A map-based search tool. Enter an address or zoom into an area to find sites.

• Cleanup and Tank Search. A text-based search tool that lets you filter sites by location, contaminant, cleanup status, and more.