West Bay Marina

Ecology is satisfied the cleanup work described in the 2015 Agreed Order No. DE11100 between Ecology and West Bay Marina Associates (the PLP; Potentially Liable Persons) is complete and no further cleanup actions are required.

Because some contamination remains at the site, an Environmental Covenant (EC) was recorded for the property on January 8, 2020. The EC limits the type of land use to protect human health and the environment. 

About every five years, Ecology will review conditions at the site. During the periodic review, Ecology will determine if the site meets the restrictions in the covenant and that conditions at the site continue to protect people and the environment.

The West Bay Marina is just over three acres of upland property located on the west side of Budd Inlet at 2100 West Bay Drive NW in Olympia. Currently, the property provides for parking and storage. The area is mostly paved and there is an office/supply building.

The site was first developed as a lumber mill in 1919. Since then, site was also a sawmill, veneer plant, and stud mill. A hog fuel burner was located on the north end of the site when the site was used for timber-related businesses.   

Between 1966 and 2002, the site operated as a boatyard and marina. Small boat maintenance activities ended in 2002 and the site has operated only as a marina since then.  

In 1993, two cleanup actions were conducted at the site to remove copper and petroleum contamination in soil.

• Elevated copper was found in a ditch at the south end of the site. The top three inches of soil in the ditch were removed.
• About 55 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil were removed from around an above-ground waste oil storage tank. 

In 1999, the marina entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program to clean up
a petroleum spill from an underground storage tank system. The marina removed:

• Three underground storage tanks (USTs).
• 675 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil and an unreported amount of oily water from the UST excavation.

Although Ecology required groundwater monitoring as part of that cleanup, reporting was sporatic.  

In 2008, West Bay Marina Associates entered into a legal agreement (Agreed Order 5272) with Ecology that required additional investigations to determine the full nature and extent of contamination at the site.

In 2011, the Remedial Investigation (RI) found dioxins/furans in near-surface soil at the north end of the property. The source of contamination was likely the former hog fuel burner. Dioxins/furans have low solubility in water and strongly adhere to organic matter. The contamination generally remains in soil and sediment and can be transported by wind erosion and surface water runoff.

Investigations showed that groundwater was not contaminated.

A plan was developed to cleanup the dioxins/furans in soil on the north end of the site.

In 2015, Ecology and West Bay Marina Associates entered into a legal agreement (Agreed Order 11100) to implement the cleanup action plan and address the dioxin-contaminated soil at the site. The plan included:

• Excavation and removal of contaminated soil from the north end of the site.
• Completion of pavement caps to isolate contaminated soil that was not excavated.

Dioxin-contaminated soil was excavated in the area northwest, north, and east of the building to a depth of approximately 2 to 2.5 feet.  A total of about 90 tons of material (soil and tree roots) was excavated and disposed off-site. The excavated area was back-filled with clean topsoil and planted with grass to prevent erosion. 

At the north area of the parking lot, a small amount of dioxin/furan contaminated soil could not be excavated without undermining the existing structure or disturbing underground utilities in the area. New asphalt and concrete pavement caps were installed to cover and isolate the remaining contaminated soil.  

In 2020, an EC was recorded for the site because contaminated soil remains at the site. The covenant restricts any activity on the site that may interfere with the cleanup actions or results in a release of contamination. The covenant requires that the containment cap, including asphalt, concrete, and structures covering the soil contamination, be kept in satisfactory condition to prevent exposure of humans and the environment to the contaminated soil.