Riverfront Park Spokane

In April 2017, we agreed that the City of Spokane's plan to clean up contaminated soil at Riverfront Park met state requirements (view opinion letter). The cleanup was part of a redevelopment project at the park. 

As soil was disturbed during redevelopment, it was sampled to determine if it was contaminated, impacted, or clean. Contaminated soil has levels of pollution that require cleanup under Washington law. Impacted soil has some contamination but not at levels requiring cleanup. Clean soil doesn't have any detectable contamination.

Contaminated soil was disposed off-site at an approved landfill. Impacted soil could be placed under buildings, structures, roads, or landscaping that provides a barrier. There are no restrictions on the reuse of clean soil.

Due to past industrial activities, soil was contaminated with petroleum, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and metals.

While these contaminants required cleanup when disturbed, park visitors were not exposed to them because of fill material used during park construction and ground coverings such as grass and asphalt.

Because some contamination remains under ground coverings, we filed an environmental covenant to document it.

Prior to becoming Riverfront Park for Expo 1974, the property was developed in the late 1870s and primarily used for mixed industrial uses and railroad activities. Many of the historical areas were covered with fill as part of park construction, and impacts from industrial activities were not investigated during the construction in 1973.