Shell Oil Tank Farm

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

The Shell Oil Tank Farm Site, at 14th Street and Q Avenue in Anacortes, was originally a portion of the Fidalgo Bay tide flats which were filled to current grade between 1925 and 1929. The property was acquired by the Port of Anacortes in 1929 and leased to the Shell Oil Company (Shell) in 1930 for use as a bulk fuel storage and distribution facility that primarily handled gasoline and diesel-range fuels. Site facilities included three 25,000
gallon aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) and a 2,000 gallon underground storage tank (UST). In the 1950s, two additional 12,500 gallon ASTs were installed at the Site and the 2,000 gallon UST was reportedly replaced with a 4,000 gallon UST. 

The Site was operated by Shell and various bulk product distributors until 1987, at which time operations ceased and the facility was reportedly decommissioned, including removal of all tanks, associated piping, and structures. At this time an unknown volume of soil was excavated from one or more of the areas in which surface staining was observed. Currently, the former Shell Oil Tank Farm Site is used by the Port of Anacortes as a vehicle and boat trailer parking lot supporting the trailer boat launch facility located to the east of Cap Sante Boat Haven.

The Port of Anacortes completed cleanup work in 2014 after taking 4,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil off-site to a permitted facility. Remaining soil that was contaminated with diesel, oil, cadmium, gasoline, and benzene could not be removed because utility lines prevented access. In 2017, an environmental covenant was recorded for the Site requiring specific notifications and procedures to protect people and the environment from exposure to the remaining contamination. Once the environmental covenant was in place, Ecology declared no further action was necessary.

The environmental covenant lists these key requirements:

• Contaminated soil must be contained under a cap of two to three feet of clean overburden.
• Installation of a protective barrier that aids in biological breakdown of remaining organic contaminants.
• Groundwater monitoring wells located on the Site must remain accessible.

Any damage to these systems must be reported to Ecology, and planned work that could compromise their integrity must be approved by Ecology.

Because of the remaining contamination and requirements of the environmental covenant, periodic reviews are required for the Site. Ecology will review the conditions of the environmental covenant and the physical condition of the site every five years to ensure the cleanup work remains protective of human health and the environment.