Block 37

Legal Agreement Finalized

Ecology has finalized a legal agreement called an Agreed Order with Phillips 66 Company and City Investors XI LLC for the Block 37 Cleanup Site (Site). The order names them as Potentially Liable Persons (PLP's) and requires them to investigate environmental conditions, conduct an interim cleanup action (if necessary), and develop a cleanup action plan for the Site.

Ecology is hosted a public comment period for these documents from March 29 - April 27, 2021. No comments were received that warranted any changes to the draft Agreed Order, so Ecology has now finalized that document. The PLP's will now move on with the next cleanup steps.

Next Steps and Estimated Timelines

The PLP's will be working on these next steps in the cleanup process. Some of these will require new public comment periods as well:

• Prepare the Remedial Investigation Work Plan (mid-2021)
• Conduct a Remedial Investigation (late 2021 - late 2023)
• Conduct a Feasibility Study to evaluate cleanup alternatives (late 2023 - late 2024)
• Prepare a draft Cleanup Action Plan for the selected alternative (2025)

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The Block 37 property (Property) is located in Seattle’s South Lake Union area. It is made up of several parcels generally located at 600-630 Westlake Avenue North, and is bordered by Westlake, Mercer Street, Valley Street, and Terry Avenue North. City Investors XI LLC is the current owner of the Property, and Phillips 66 Company previously owned two parcels in the southern portion.

Historical uses of the Property date back to the late 1800s. A lumber mill, creamery, and brewery operated there until the early 1930s. A railroad occupied the northeast corner from the 1910s to 2005. A retail gasoline service station operated on the northwest portion from about 1930 to the mid-1960s. A service garage operated on the northern portion from 1971 to 2002. A second retail gasoline and automobile service station operated on the southwest portion from about 1965 to 2008. 

No permanent structures are currently on the Property. The southern portion is mostly covered with gravel and used for temporary site offices, equipment, materials staging, and temporary water treatment facilities for nearby redevelopment projects. The northern portion is paved and mostly used as a parking lot and equipment storage.

Several independent cleanups have been done on and around the Property. These have included removal of petroleum contaminated soil and liquid petroleum hydrocarbons, as well as in-ground treatment to reduce contamination in groundwater and remove harmful vapors that evaporate from these contaminants.

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 implements the MTCA cleanup process  and oversees cleanups.