Chevron 90619

Ecology held a public comment period from December 4 – January 3, 2021 to invite comments on the amended Agreed Order and to delist the Site from the Hazardous Sites List. Ecology received two public comments. Ecology has determined that the cleanup actions at the site meet state cleanup standards.

The Chevron 90619 Site is located within the City of Bellingham, Whatcom County at the intersection of Broadway and Elm.  The 0.61-acre site is located approximately 0.4 miles northeast of Bellingham Bay (Squalicum Harbor).  Gas and service stations operated on the property from about 1930 until the early 1990’s.  A residence was also located on the property from at least 1950 through 1975. Gas station fuel tanks and infrastructure were removed in 1991.  The buildings were removed in 1995 and a coffee shop was constructed that operated at the location until 2016.  A new tenant opened a butcher shop at the site in August 2017.

 
Investigations in 1991 showed petroleum in soil and groundwater that exceeded cleanup levels allowed under the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). Diesel and gasoline-range hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes were detected in soil and groundwater samples.

Ground water monitoring in 1995 for four out of eleven wells showed that one well had benzene above cleanup levels. A later report looked at a portion of the Site and showed gasoline in soil above cleanup levels. These are hazardous substances under WAC 173-340-200 and may pose a threat to human health and the environment. The most current ground water sampling results conducted over four consecutive quarters and most recent soil sampling showed that all petroleum hydrocarbon constituents in soil and ground water were below MTCA cleanup levels.

The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA; Chapter 70.105D RCW) is Washington’s environmental cleanup law. It provides requirements for contaminated site cleanup and sets standards that protect human health and the environment. Ecology enacts the MTCA and oversees cleanups. The MTCA site cleanup process is completed in steps (see graphic) over a variable timeline.