Eatonville Landfill

Ecology placed the site on the Contaminated Sites List in 2020.

In 2021, Ecology, the Town of Eatonville, and Weyerhaeuser Company entered Agreed Order DE 20072. The Town of Eatonville and Weyerhaeuser are the potentially liable persons (PLPs) responsible for investigation and cleanup of the site.

The Agreed Order required the PLPs to complete a Remedial Investigation (RI) Work Plan and RI report. The RI report identified the type of contamination and where it is found at the site. The Agreed Order also required the PLPs to complete a Feasibility Study (FS) that compares alternative cleanup methods. Then, the PLPs used the information in the RI/FS to complete a preliminary draft cleanup action plan describing which method will be used to clean up the Site. Ecology used the preliminary plan to prepare the draft Cleanup Action Plan (dCAP).

The RI/FS and draft Cleanup Action Plan are now complete and were available for public comment from November 14 - December 18, 2024. Ecology, Weyerhaeuser, and the Town of Eatonville will enter a new legal agreement (Consent Decree) to implement the cleanup actions. These documents are summarized in the fact sheet.

We received one comment and responded to it. There were no changes to the documents based on this comment. Ecology is in the process of finalizing the documents.

The Site is near the Town of Eatonville in rural Pierce County. The town leased the property from Weyerhaeuser to use as a dump from about 1950 to 1980.

The landfill is about two acres in size. It contains:

• municipal solid waste
• appliances
• car parts and tires
• empty drums
• pollution from waste burning 
• pollution from recreational firearm shooting
• other types of waste

The landfill does not have a liner below the trash.  This allowed pollution to move down into soil and groundwater.

Nisqually State Park surrounds the landfill. There is no fence to prevent people and animals from walking through the debris at the Site.

The landfill is on a very steep slope. There is a wetland at the lower end and at the base of the landfill. Water from the wetland flows downstream about ¼ mile to the Mashel River. The Mashel River is a major tributary of the Nisqually River. Both rivers provide key habitat for fall Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

The Nisqually Indian Tribe holds fishing, hunting, and gathering rights in the Nisqually watershed. The area around the Site is culturally important to them.

Ecology placed Eatonville Landfill on the Contaminated Sites List due to the following contaminants of concern. These contaminants were found in soil, groundwater, or surface water:

• Metals: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, hexavalent chromium, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc
• Semi Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs): pentachlorophenol (PCP) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs)
• Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH): gasoline, diesel, and oil-range organic compounds