Norseland Landfill

Past occupants of the Norseland Landfill cleanup site have included a former mobile home park, former landfill, and former military base. The U.S. Army acquired the Site in 1943 and the facility was named Camp Christie. All buildings and debris were removed or burned before the Army transferred the land back to Kitsap County in 1948. Puget Service Company leased the land and operated a landfill between 1951 and 1961. This landfill was operated under a permit from the Kitsap Public Health District. The landfill was the disposal site for the City of Bremerton and operated as a burn dump and salvage operation. Puget Service Company closed the landfill consistent with standards acceptable in 1961. In 1962 Kitsap County leased property to a developer and a mobile home park was created called the Norseland Mobile Estates. In 1963 Kitsap County gave the property to the Port of Bremerton, the current property owner.

In 1991 Ecology received reports that odors had been detected by the mobile home park residents. Between 1992 and 2000 a remedial investigation and feasibility study was conducted and a cleanup action plan developed. The mobile home park residents were moved to a new mobile home park in Port Orchard. Cleanup activities were completed under a consent decree.

The cleanup actions required the consolidation of waste within a designated area. The waste was covered by a permeable soil cap with vegetated topsoil cover. The requirements included cap maintenance, surface water control, a restrictive covenant, and compliance monitoring for groundwater and ambient air. A restrictive covenant was recorded with Kitsap County in 2000.

Groundwater and ambient air compliance monitoring was conducted from 2001 to 2006. Over this interval, Site contaminants of concern were not detected above their respective cleanup levels. The Site was removed from the Washington State Hazardous Sites List in 2011 after a public notice and comment period.

A periodic review is conducted about every five years after a cleanup action when institutional controls are used as part of the remedy. The purpose of the periodic review is to make sure the controls remain effective, and the cleanup still protects human health and the environment. The 2022 Periodic Review concluded that the cleanup actions completed at the Site appear to still be protective of human health and the environment.