Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply

Updated: May 2025

Read the Fact Sheet

Ecology invites you to review the following documents for the cleanup of the Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply site.

• Draft Remedial Investigation: Details the types and locations of contamination at the site.
• Draft Feasibility Study: Explains the different cleanup methods, called alternatives, including Ecology’s preferred cleanup alternative. This study is combined into one document with the Remedial Investigation.
• Public Participation Plan: Describes how Ecology will inform the community about site activities and ways to become involved.

Note: All appendices and lab reports for the Draft Remedial Investigation and Draft Feasibility Study can be found under the documents tab at the bottom of this page.

Join our email list to receive updates about the Whidbey Marine & Auto cleanup site. Email Kristen Forkeutis, Public Involvement Coordinator, at Kristen.Forkeutis@ecy.wa.gov to be added to the list. Unsubscribe at any time.

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 law and oversees cleanups. The MTCA site cleanup process is completed in steps (see graphic below) over a variable timeline.

Current Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply cleanup site Public Participation Plan.

This plan describes how Ecology will share information with the community and how you can share information with us. Ecology will review this plan as the cleanup progresses and amend/update it as necessary.

Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply operated as a retail gasoline service station, auto and boat supply store, and auto repair facility between 1971 and 2014. A release of unleaded gasoline from an underground storage tank was reported to Ecology in 2005. At that time the site entered into Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP), which helps property owners manage cleanups under MTCA. Between 2006 and 2011 a series of interim actions (early partial cleanups) removed gasoline vapors from the contaminated soil. In January 2011, all the USTs and associated piping were removed from the property along with some contaminated soil.

Between 2017 to 2020, the site was enrolled in the Washington Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to receive advice and guidance on cleaning up the site.

In 2023 Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program finalized a state funded contract with consulting firm Haley & Aldrich (HA) to continue the cleanup process under MTCA.

Investigations found many contaminants present at levels that exceeded standards under MTCA. These included the following.

• Soil: Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and associated chemical contaminants such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylene (ie: BTEX). Other contaminants also included tetrachloroethylene (PCE).
• Groundwater: TPH and associated chemical contaminations such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylene (ie: BTEX). Other contaminants included PCE and trichloroethylene (TCE).

Groundwater contamination
Beneath the site, there are two distinct groundwater zones: a perched zone about 60 feet below the ground surface and a deeper zone about 100 feet below the ground surface. The deeper groundwater zone comprises the regional aquifer or Sea-Level Aquifer.

The Sea-Level Aquifer is Whidbey Island’s main source of drinking water, and an invaluable resource. The Freeland Water and Sewer District operates four drinking water supply wells located south and south-east of the site that pull water from the Sea-Level Aquifer.

Contamination has slowly traveled through the sub-surface reaching both the perched groundwater zone and the Sea-Level Aquifer in the vicinity beneath the property.

Groundwater is being monitored to make sure the contamination is not moving towards the
drinking water wells. To date, groundwater monitoring has not detected any contamination downgradient of the site. This indicates there is no immediate threat to the drinking water supply. However, the contamination remains a concern and must be addressed.

Need help or have questions? We offer translation and interpretation services at no cost. If you need these services, email kristen.forkeutis@ecy.wa.gov or call 425-240-4353. If you call, ask for an interpreter to be connected with one.