Sunnyslope Elementary School

The school is located on former orchard property and was subject to historical pesticide applications. Soil samples taken in 2002 confirmed lead and arsenic at concentrations exceeding state cleanup levels.

In 2005, the site was added to Ecology’s Hazardous Sites List with a ranking of “5”. Sites on the Hazardous Sites List are a priority for Ecology, and have completed a Site Hazard Assessment (SHA). A SHA provides information about the environmental risk of the site. Risk is based on the amount of contaminants, how toxic they are, and how easily they can come in contact with people and the environment. Sites are ranked relative to each other on a scale of “1” to “5”; with a rank of “5” being the lowest.

During the summer of 2008, Ecology conducted a cleanup and placed all contaminated soils under a geotextile fabric barrier. Then, six inches of clean topsoil were placed on top on the barrier fabric. This cleanup method, referred to as capping, is cost-effective and prevents human exposure to contaminated soil.
 
Following cleanup, an environmental covenant was recorded for the property with the Chelan County Assessor. The purpose of the environmental covenant is to provide a permanent legal record of the contamination that remains on the property, and to prevent activities at the site that might disturb or damage the soil cap.

Based upon cleanup activities and the recording of the environmental/restrictive covenant, Ecology has determined the site is no longer a threat to human health and the environment. Ecology issued a no further action determination in April 2011. The site has been removed from the Hazardous Sites List.