March Point Landfill

Facility Site ID: 2662 Cleanup Site ID: 304

A Puget Sound Initiative Site - Reaching the goal of a healthy, sustainable Puget Sound.

Background

The March Point Landfill site, also called the Whitmarsh Landfill, operated from 1950 until 1973, first as an unregulated public dump and later as a county disposal area. Decades of household, commercial, and industrial solid wastes were discarded into a natural lagoon on the shore of Padilla Bay. From the late 1980s to mid-2011, a sawmill operated at the site generating wood waste up to ten feet thick over large portions of the landfill.

The March Point Landfill site is located next to a heron rookery, where great blue herons breed. Cleanup decisions will be made in consideration of the herons to minimize any impacts to their population.

Status

In 2014 and 2015, approximately 44,000 cubic yards of wood waste debris was hauled off site and recycled as compost material. The former mill area buildings were demolished in late 2022 and the concrete foundations were broken up.

In 2017, Ecology completed a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS). These studies described the nature and extent of contamination at the site, evaluated risks the contamination poses to human health and the environment, and looked for cleanup options. 

The 2020 consent decree named Shell Oil Company., Texaco Inc., and Skagit County as the parties responsible for the cost of the cleanup. A Cleanup Action Plan (CAP) was developed in early 2020 to detail the upland cleanup alternative selected, the site use restrictions and monitoring requirements. 

The selected cleanup alternative, presented in the RI/FS, and detailed in the CAP was Alternative 3, which includes:

• Removing a portion of the existing landfill to accommodate right-of-way.
• Excavating and re-distributing some of the existing landfill cap and some existing solid waste in preparation for grading the site.
• Grading the site to allow for stormwater runoff.
• Constructing an impermeable cap over the site, made of layers of geotextile and bentonite clay. This prevents water from filtering through the solid waste in the landfill and carrying contaminants into Padilla Bay.
• Installing an enhanced geotextile membrane where the cap will encounter marine water.
• Placing three feet of gravel and soils over the geotextile membrane.
• Installing a system to collect landfill gas and passively vent it to the surface.
• Installing stormwater control and surface drainage systems.
• Restoring habitat along the site’s shoreline.
• During construction, wastewater and erosion will be managed in accordance with regulatory requirements. Disturbance of the nearby heron rookery will also be limited through techniques like noise reduction.

Remediation activities are scheduled to begin Spring 2025.



Legal 10
Public Information 7
Document Title Document Date Document Type
March Point Landfill Final Response to Comments 5/4/2020 Responsiveness Summary
March Point Landfill March 2020 Fact Sheet 3/9/2020 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
March Point Public Participation Plan 3/2/2020 Public Participation Plan
March Point Landfill Final Public Participation Plan February 2/8/2017 Public Participation Plan
March Point Landfill Final Fact Sheet June 2016 6/20/2016 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
March Point Landfill Fact Sheet October 2008 10/1/2008 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
March Point Landfill Fact Sheet Site Investigation Documents 10/1/2008 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
State Environmental Policy Act 2
Document Title Document Date Document Type
March Point Landfill SEPA MDNS Letter 3/3/2020 SEPA Documents
March Point Landfill SEPA Checklist 6/2/2017 SEPA Documents
Technical Reports 15
Document Title Document Date Document Type
March Point Landfill - SHARP Report 7/17/2024 SHARP Report
March Point Landfill Wetland Mitigation Plan 3/22/2024 Site Specific Technical Document - other
March Point Landfill JARPA Compiled 10/14/2021 Site Specific Technical Document - other
March Point Landfill Cleanup Action Plan 2/16/2020 Cleanup Action Plan
March Point Landfill RI/FS Study Report Appendix G 2/10/2017 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
March Point Landfill Final Remedial Investigation Appendices 2/10/2017 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
March Point Landfill Final Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study Report 2/10/2017 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Phase 1 Remedial Investigation Report 4/9/2010 Remedial Action Report
Uplands Phase II RI Sampling and Analysis Plan 4/7/2010 Sampling and Analysis Plan
Quality Assurance Project Plan Upland Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study 6/29/2007 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Draft_Final_Upland_Remedial_Investigation_Feasibility_Study 6/29/2007 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Summary of Existing Information and Identification of Data Gaps for Sediments 4/20/2007 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Sediment Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Workplan Draft 4/20/2007 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Potentially Liable Parties Report Final 4/12/2007 Site Specific Technical Document - other
March Point Landfill Site Pre-RI Uplands Data Gap Summary 4/11/2007 Site Specific Technical Document - other
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Headquarters
    300 Desmond Dr SE
    Lacey, 98503
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.
  • Anacortes Public Library
    1220 10th Street
    Anacortes, 98221
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.
  • Padilla Bay Reserve
    10441 Bayview Edison Rd
    Mount Vernon, 98273
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.
  • Skagit County Public Works
    1800 Continental Pl
    Mount Vernon, 98273
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.

Contaminants 10

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants S S S B
Halogenated Organics - Polychlorinated biPhenyls (PCB) S C S B
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum Products-Unspecified S S S B
Non-Halogenated Organics - Phenolic Compounds S S S B
Non-Halogenated Organics - Non-Halogenated Solvents S S S B
Halogenated Organics - Dioxins/Furans B
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons S S S B
Other Contaminant - Conventional Contaminants, Organic S S S B
Other Contaminant - Conventional Contaminants, Inorganic S S S B
Pesticides - Pesticides-Unspecified S S S B
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.