International Paper Longview

Last Updated May 17, 2021

On March 8, 2021 the public comment period ended for International Paper at the Port of Longview's draft cleanup action plan and draft public participation plan. We did receive comments from the Port of Longview. These comments as well as Ecology's response to these comments can be found in the "View Documents" section under the "Site Details" tab on this site. Ecology has reviewed the Port's comments and the documents were not changed based on these comments. The documents have now been finalized.

 The next stage in this process is the cleanup action plan (CAP). 

The draft Cleanup Action Plan (dCAP) describes the following approach to cleanup:

∙ Remove clean surface soil and stockpile on site for grading.

∙ Excavate contaminated soil from 3 to 4.5 feet (except for the utility corridor, which is 3–5 feet).

∙ Remove contaminated soil and send it to a specialized landfill.

∙ Solidify remaining soil from 4.5 to 9 feet in place to prevent spreading contamination.

∙ Regrade to maintain current topography.

· Treatment of groundwater by chemical oxidation to reduce contamination and monitored natural attenuation.

Between 1937 and 1982, International Paper treated wood in the Treated Wood Products (TWP) Area. Between 1947 and 1953, wastewater from the wood-treatment process was moved through a ditch to a nearby impoundment located in the area now called the MFA. In 1953, International Paper stopped discharging liquid wastes to the MFA and switched to two ponds within the TWP Area. In 1982, International Paper stopped treating wood. In 1985, International Paper excavated some of the contaminated soils in the TWP Area. In 1989, the remaining contaminated soils were capped.

The last public comment period was from August 17 - October 2, 2017 about the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) and related documents.

There were ten soil cleanup options outlined in the RI/FS prepared by International Paper as well as another alternative proposed by the Port of Longview. The options included a variety of excavation, disposal, and treatment activities. All soil cleanup options included:

- An environmental covenant that places conditions on future excavation at the site until soil cleanup levels are achieved.

- An asphalt pavement to prevent direct contact with soil because some contaminated soil will remain on site.

- Groundwater monitoring to make sure contamination is not spreading.

There were four groundwater cleanup options outlined in the draft RI/FS, including using chemical oxidation treatment to degrade contamination and monitored natural attenuation.

During the 45-day comment period, Ecology had an open house and public hearing in Longview. About 30 people came and 10 people gave oral comments. In total, we received 24 comments about this cleanup site. In addition to our public open house and hearing, we met with interested people, including environmental staff from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region X, The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Tribe.

Our responses to public comments are available in our Responsiveness Summary. 

Cleanup options were evaluated in the final Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study report.

Operations at the TWP Area were discontinued in 1982, and International Paper dismantled the wood treatment operations, with the exception of the boiler house and the treatment building foundation. They submitted a closure plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ecology in 1985. In 1985, International Paper excavated contaminated soils from several locations in the TWP Area, including two surface impoundments - ponds designed to hold liquid waste materials.

The excavated soil was disposed of at a permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSD). International Paper capped remaining contaminated soils in the former ponds and process areas with a low permeability cover in 1989. Nearly all structures in the TWP Area (buildings, tanks, and related hardware) were removed or capped as part of closure activities.

In 1997, the Department of Ecology requested additional cleanup in the TWP Area to ensure long-term protection of human health and the environment.
 
In 1997 and 1998, International Paper: 

• Constructed a subsurface barrier wall around the TWP Area to contain contaminated soil and groundwater.
• Capped the area with an additional low permeability cover.
• Installed systems to remove floating light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) within the contained area.
• Installed a treatment system that added oxygen to contaminated soil to increase the rate that microorganisms consumed contaminants.
• Installed groundwater monitoring wells to monitor the subsurface barrier wall.