Vancouver Port of NuStar Cadet Swan

The legal agreement, Agreed Order DE 18152 (AO DE 18152), for planning cleanup of the Cadet/Swan part of the Port of Vancouver, Cadet/Swan, NuStar, Kinder Morgan Site (Site) has been signed. The Port of Vancouver (port) is the only potentially liable person (PLP) subject to this Agreed Order.

The Agreed Order is about cleanup of hazardous substances at and near the Cadet/Swan part of the Site. It requires the port to complete a feasibility study and preliminary draft cleanup action plan. Ecology will prepare the draft Cleanup Action Plan.

A fact sheet briefly summarizes information about the site and the Agreed Order. 

We held a comment period from August 27 to September 27, 2020, inviting comment on AO DE 18152. One comment was received during the public comment period. The Responsiveness Summary provides our response to that comment.  

Cadet/Swan part of the Site

In 1956, the Swan Manufacturing Co. (Swan) started making electrical heaters in a building located at the corner of W 4th Plain Blvd and St Frances Lane. In 1964, they moved to 2500 W 4th Plain Blvd. In 1972, the Cadet Manufacturing Co. (Cadet) purchased Swan. Cadet continued to make heaters. The port purchased the former Swan site in 1982. In 2006, the port acquired the Cadet property.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chlorinated solvents were used to clean metal parts at both facilities and the solvents were released to soil and groundwater. The area of solvent contamination in groundwater is called a plume. A groundwater plume of chlorinated solvents is located under the Cadet and Swan facilities. The port is conducting cleanup at Cadet and Swan.

NuStar and Kinder Morgan part of the Site

The NuStar Terminals Services, Inc. (NuStar) and Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals, LLC (KMBT) are located next to each other on the Columbia River and not far from the Swan/Cadet locations. NuStar and KMBT are tenants of the port. NuStar handled bulk fertilizer and other bulk products. KMBT moves copper ore and other bulk products from rail cars to ships for export. 

Contaminants of nitrate, ammonia, copper, and other metals are found in soil and groundwater beneath these facilities. NuStar, KMBT, and the port are conducting a supplemental remedial investigation to access that contamination. 

At the location of the former operator of the NuStar terminal, chlorinated solvents, such as perchloroethylene (PCE) and TCE, polluted soil and groundwater. The solvents were bulk materials handled for distribution. A groundwater plume of chlorinated solvents is located under the NuStar and KMBT operational areas.

Contamination at the Site has not adversely affected City of Vancouver, Clark Public Utilities, or port public drinking water supply wells. Even so, cleanup of the groundwater plume and other contaminants is important because exposure to these substances can be harmful to human health and the environment.

In 2009, the maximum extent of the solvent plume at the Site became known, which is outlined by a black dashed line. Until recently, Ecology considered the solvent plume from the Swan/Cadet location and NuStar source areas to be one area-wide plume.

The yellow shaded area within the Site outline is the area considered in AO DE 18152 for partial cleanup by the port. The NuStar and KMBT Site area not shaded yellow is not included in AO DE 18152.

Cleanups, called interim actions, have reduced the solvent contaminant levels so the solvent plume no longer extends all the way between the Cadet/Swan and NuStar source areas. 

Washington's cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), provides authority in AO DE 18152 to require the port to conduct and draft a feasibility study and prepare a preliminary draft cleanup action plan for a partial Site cleanup within the Port/NuStar/KMBT Site. 

The port will complete evaluation of the partial Site cleanup. The investigation and cleanup evaluation of the NuStar/KMBT part of the Site will continue at the same time. Ecology's objective is a complete and timely cleanup of the whole Site, while protecting the health of people and the environment.

There will be more opportunities for public comment. For the Cadet/Swan part of the Site, the draft feasibility study and the draft Cleanup Action Plan, and a new legal agreement to put the plan into effect will be available for public comment. 

For the NuStar/KMBT part of the Site, the public will be able to review and comment on the Supplemental Remedial Investigation report, Feasibility Study, and the draft Cleanup Action Plan.