Gas Works Park
Site Status - July 2021
Under a legal agreement with the Department of Ecology (Ecology), Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and the City of Seattle (City) are developing an environmental report for the Gas Works Park site.
The report will:
• summarize investigations and cleanup actions performed to date
• describe remaining contaminated areas that require cleanup (mainly Lake Union sediment)
• identify and evaluate alternatives for addressing the remaining areas
The report should be ready for public review in Spring 2022.
Site Information
The Gas Works Park site is approximately 42 acres located at 2101 North Northlake Way in Seattle, Washington. It includes about 21 acres of upland property and 21 acres of property within Lake Union. Most of the upland portion of the site is owned by the City and most of the in-water portion is owned by the State of Washington.
Contamination
Contamination at the site is mainly the result of historic gas manufacturing and tar refining operations. Contaminants include petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and arsenic.
Previous Cleanup Work
Under various legal agreements with Ecology over the years, PSE and the City have implemented multiple cleanup actions to address contamination in the upland portion of the site. These actions included soil removal, soil capping and groundwater treatment.
As a result, the in-water sediment portion of the site is the main area still requiring cleanup. Please click on the photo for a larger view
Please click on the photo for a larger view
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 2
Environmental Covenant
Covenant Restrictions
- Ongoing Maintenance of Remedy
- Prohibit Removal or Alteration of Existing Buildings
- Prohibit Soil Disturbance
- Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
Media Restrictions
- Groundwater
- Soil
Environmental Covenant
Covenant Restrictions
- Ongoing Maintenance of Remedy
- Prohibit Removal or Alteration of Existing Buildings
- Prohibit Soil Disturbance
- Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
Media Restrictions
- Groundwater
- Soil
Documents 66
Legal 12
Public Information 17
State Environmental Policy Act 6
Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
SEPA Determination of Non-Significance - Addendum | 9/11/2017 | SEPA Documents |
Play Area SEPA Figures | 2/27/2017 | SEPA Documents |
SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance | 2/24/2017 | SEPA Documents |
Play Area SEPA Checklist Updated | 2/22/2017 | SEPA Documents |
Gas Works Park - Determination of Non-Significance (June 2012) | 6/15/2012 | SEPA Documents |
Gas Works Park - SEPA Checklist (June 2012) | 6/15/2012 | SEPA Documents |
Technical Reports 31
Places to see print documents
-
Northwest Regional Office15700 Dayton Ave NShoreline, 98133Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.
-
Fremont Public Library731 N 35th StreetSeattle, 98103This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.
Contaminants 4
Contaminant Type | Soil |
Groundwater |
Surface Water |
Air |
Sediment |
Bedrock |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Halogenated Organics - Halogenated Organics | C | |||||
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants | S | |||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum Products-Unspecified | C | C | ||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | C | C |
- S
- Suspected
- C
- Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
- B
- Below Cleanup Levels
- RA
- Remediated-Above
- RB
- Remediated-Below
- R
- Remediated