Everett Landfill Tire Fire

Last updated: September 2021

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“Cleaning up: An update will help Everett’s Riverfront redevelopment move forward”

Final cleanup amendment requires additional safeguards during development
Ecology conducted a 30-day comment period (July 19 - August 17, 2021) on an amendment to a legal agreement, called a Consent Decree (CD), for the Everett Landfill Tire Fire Site (Site). Ecology and the potentially liable person (PLP), the City of Everett, agreed to the CD in 2001. It defined cleanup requirements for the Site when it remained an open area, and cleanup requirements when it would be developed with roads and buildings. This amendment now specifies additional cleanup requirements and safeguards based on new proposed developments at the Site.

• Consent Decree Amendment #3 – update to the 2001 legal agreement between Ecology, City of Everett, and Riverfront Commercial Investment (Riverfront was added as a PLP at a later date).

The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) is Washington’s environmental cleanup law. It provides requirements for contaminated site cleanup and sets standards that protect human health and the environment. Ecology enacts the MTCA and oversees cleanups. The MTCA site cleanup process is completed in steps (see graphic below) over a variable timeline. 

• July 19 – August 17, 2021:  Held a 30-day public comment period.
• July 28, 2021:  Held an online public meeting. (Download meeting presentation)
• September 2021:  Ecology finalized the Consent Decree Amendment #3. Ecology reviewed and considered all comments received. Based on Ecology’s evaluation of the comments, no changes were necessary in the legal document. Work will proceed with development and the additional requirements. 

The Consent Decree permits development of commercial buildings with upper story residential living space and townhome development on the Site. Construction of grading, utility work and paving is currently underway on the west side of the Site, along with construction of the first two mixed-use building foundations and shells.   These mixed-use buildings will support 333 residences and approximately 31,000 square feet of commercial, retail, business, and service uses.  First occupancies are anticipated for the Fall 2023. 

This amendment maintains the existing requirements of the CD.  Additionally, it clarifies that street-level residential use, such as the proposed Work/Live Units, utilize a separation space between residential space and the ground, with monitoring and ventilation and additional landfill gas sensors and alarms. 

The Site is approximately 70 acres and is located east of downtown Everett, between Interstate 5 and the Snohomish River in Everett, Washington. It is currently under development by the owner, Riverfront Commercial Investment, LLC, for commercial and residential uses.

The Site was used as a municipal landfill from 1917 to 1974. In 1974, the landfill stopped accepting waste, and was graded and closed the following year. In 1977, a commercial recycling operation began storing rubber tires on the central and eastern half of the Site. Two tire fires occurred on the Site in 1983 and 1984, contributing to the contamination on-site. In 1990, the Site was added to Ecology’s list of hazardous sites under the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA).

An agreed order was signed in 1994, which required remedial actions that included leachate control (managing water that drains from a landfill) and management of landfill debris and tire fire ash, as well as control of perimeter landfill gas. Since 1995, areas of the Site have been graded, capped, or excavated to remove or control the contaminant movement. Groundwater and landfill gas have been monitored at the Site since the early 2000s. The CD and a Cleanup Action Plan (CAP) were finalized in 2001.

Contaminants of concern at this site are total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and metals.

The city of Everett (City) completed two Interim Actions at the Site while it was under the State’s Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA), but before the Agreed Order was signed. The first Interim Action was the Everett Landfill Site Grading in 1995. This project improved the site grading and the control of surface water. The City graded the entire site (except for the two tire fire areas) to collect and control surface water and to reduce leachate. The City then put an extra two feet of soil cover over the waste areas, and re-graded the East Ditch for drainage.

The second Interim Action was in 1997 and 1998. During this project, the City:

• Installed a geomembrane cover on the eastern side slopes of the landfill.
• Added a lined leachate collection trench and transmission system.
• Added two pump stations.
• Installed a leachate control force main and access road.
• Installed site fencing.
• Added site cover.
• Controlled for water on the eastern portion of the site.
• Removed and disposed of sediments in the East Ditch.
• Removed and disposed of the tires and tire fire ash that remained.

In 2001 the City signed a Consent Decree for a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study and Cleanup Action Plan. The Consent Decree allowed for Brownfields redevelopment on the site. They did further landfill gas monitoring from 2001 to 2003 and installed a perimeter landfill gas control system in 2004. The Everett Transfer Station was closed and torn down in 2004. In 2006 the City built a bridge to pass 41st street over the existing rail lines. It also includes landfill gas control for the part of 41st street on the landfill.

Year	Event
1917	Site starts being used as a landfill
1974	Landfill stops accepting waste
1975	Everett Transfer Station opens on the landfill site
1977	Tire storage starts
1983	First tire fire
1984	Larger tire fire (likely 1,000,000 tires)
1990	Site was ranked as a Department of Ecology Hazardous Site
1994	Agreed Order signed
1994	Landfill regraded and capped
1998	EPA Brown Field Grant and Study
1998	Addressed leachate control and finished tire fire ash disposal
2001	Consent Decree for Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study and Cleanup Action Plan (Includes brown fields uses) signed
2003	Everett Transfer Station closes
2004	Perimeter Landfill Gas Collection System installed
2004	Transfer Station demolished and area regraded
2006	41st Street bridge complete
2007	Oliver McMillan agrees to purchase the Riverfront Redevelopment Area

Riverfront Redevelopment
The Everett Landfill Site combined with two adjacent properties, the Simpson Site and Eclipse Mill Property, are now known as the Riverfront Redevelopment Site. The City of Everett (City) plans to use the 211 acres to create space for commercial, hotel and residential property. More information about the Simpson Site and Eclipse Mill Property can be found below.

Simpson Site, Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP)
The Simpson site is located south of the landfill site. It is near the Lowell district and within the incorporated boundaries of Everett, Washington (Figure 1). The Sites borders are Junction Avenue and Second Avenue to the west, the Snohomish River to the east, the landfill site to the north, and Lowell Snohomish River Road to the south. Parts of the Simpson Site are being cleaned up under Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program.

Eclipse Mill Property
The Eclipse Mill Property is north of the Landfill and south of Pacific Avenue between Interstate Five and the Snohomish River. This property is not a Department of Ecology cleanup site.