Facility Site ID: 762 Cleanup Site ID: 88

Site Background

The site is about 67 acres of industrial and agricultural land south of the Colville River. The primary use was commercial and industrial; one parcel was used for agricultural purposes. The facility is next to an active aggregate operation, White Stone Calcium, Inc., which markets crushed marble, granite, and quartzite materials.

Northwest Magnesite processed magnesite ore from local mines at the facility for several decades until 1967. An approximately 17-acre pile of process residues up to 30 feet thick was left behind. This pile is not part of the current cleanup.

In the mid-1970s, a metal recovery facility, L-Bar Products, started operating on the property. The operation involved processing and recovering magnesium metal from a magnesium-processing byproduct called flux bar. The flux bar mostly came from a magnesium smelter in Addy, Washington, which was operated by Northwest Alloys, an Alcoa subsidiary. Flux bar contains various metal salts, magnesium metal, and nitrogen-based compounds that can degrade over time into ammonia. Small hot spots and fires occurred in the unprocessed flux bar stockpiles as the magnesium degraded.

The magnesium recovery process involved crushing raw flux bar and screening the crushed materials to recover metallic magnesium granules. Then flux bar residue remained. L-Bar further processed the residue for agronomic applications; however, the output exceeded demand. Large stockpiles of flux bar residue gradually built up at the site. Residual ammonia, chloride, and other contaminants leached from the piles.

Ecology issued several enforcement orders and penalties to L-Bar Products for violating air, water quality, and dangerous waste regulations while the plant operated. Some emergency actions and plant rehabilitations addressed the orders. When the plant closed in 1991, an estimated 100,000+ tons of flux bar and its residues were left on the site.

Contamination

Past operating practices and improper storage of flux bar and its residues caused soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination, including:

Cleanup Progress Is Being Monitored

In 1995, Ecology entered into an agreed order with Northwest Alloys to complete a remedial investigation and feasibility study to define the full extent of contamination at the site and identify cleanup options. Following that, a 2000 agreed order required Northwest Alloys to complete the Cleanup Action Plan Ecology prepared.

Cleanup actions included:
  • Removing flux bar, flux bar residue, and contaminated soil and disposing of it off-site 
  • Improving surface water drainage controls 
  • Allowing contaminants in soil and shallow groundwater to dissipate naturally over time
  • Long-term monitoring 

Routine monitoring includes 12 shallow monitoring wells, 1 production well, 2 surface water drainage ditch stations, and 2 monitoring stations on the Colville River. Cleanup levels have not yet been met, but groundwater and surface water quality have improved.

Periodic reviews
In April 2012, Ecology completed the first periodic review and recommended:
  • Continuing groundwater and surface water monitoring
  • Establishing a lower detection level for thallium analysis
  • Further investigating areas of the site to determine if contamination sources are still present
  • Removing additional contaminants, if found

In August 2019, we completed the second periodic review and recommended no further cleanup actions, as people and the environment will continue to be protected as long as the restrictive covenant remains in place and is followed. Ground and surface water monitoring will continue to track cleanup progress.

The next review is scheduled for 2023.

Site use restrictions called institutional controls are in effect

Institutional controls can be fences, signs, or restrictions on how the property is used. For instance, an institutional control may prohibit installing drinking water wells or disturbing a protective cap that isolates contamination. These restrictions keep the contamination contained and keep people from being exposed to the contamination. The controls are usually listed in environmental covenants recorded with the county.

Periodic reviews are required when institutional controls are required at a site. Ecology conducts reviews to make sure the controls remain effective and the cleanup still protects human health and the environment. We conduct periodic reviews about every five years.

Environmental Covenant

County Recording #: 2001 003757
County Recording Date: 4/27/2001

Restrictions/Requirements

  • Prevent the Reuse or Relocation of Site Soil
  • Restrict Domestic Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
  • Restrict Land Use

Restricted Media

  • Groundwater
  • Soil
Legal 4
Document Title Document Date Document Type
L-Bar Site - Restrictive Covenant 2001 0003757 4/27/2001 Environmental Covenant; Alternative Mechanism
L-Bar Site - Cleanup Action Plan Agreed Order 6/12/2000 Agreed Order
L-Bar Site - Remedial Investigation-Feasibility Study Agreed Order 1/5/1995 Agreed Order
L-Bar Site - Emergency Enforcement Order 3/17/1994 Enforcement Order
Public Information 1
Document Title Document Date Document Type
L-Bar Site - Fact Sheet Material Removal and Compliance Monitoring Work Plan 1/1/2001 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
Technical Reports 7
Document Title Document Date Document Type
L‐Bar Site - Compliance Monitoring Program—2021 Year‐End Groundwater Monitoring Data Submittal 3/23/2022 Groundwater Monitoring Report
L-Bar Site - Compliance Monitoring Program Sampling and Analysis Work Plan 2020 Revision 5/30/2020 Site Specific Technical Document - other
L-Bar Site - Periodic Review L Bar Northwest Alloys 8/19/2019 Periodic Review (5 Year)
L-Bar Site - Focused Site Investigation Work Plan 4/30/2013 Site Specific Technical Document - other
L-Bar Site - Data Summary Report for the Supplemental Geophysical Survey Work Conducted 10/31/2012 Site Specific Technical Document - other
L-Bar Site - Periodic Review L Bar Northwest Alloys 4/25/2012 Periodic Review (5 Year)
L-Bar Site - Final Cleanup Action Plan 6/1/2000 Cleanup Action Plan
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Eastern Regional Office
    N 4601 Monroe St
    Spokane, 99205-1265
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.

Contaminants 2

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants S S S
Other Contaminant - Conventional Contaminants, Inorganic C C C
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.