Sound Battery aka: Allied Battery Co Inc Tacoma
Current Status
The first periodic review for this site was conducted in 2025. Ecology conducts periodic reviews about every 5 years, because contamination remains at this site.
The 2025 periodic review found that the cleanup at this site is effective, and no additional cleanup work is required at this time. Key takeaways from the periodic review report include:
- Soil cleanup levels have been met for industrial land use
- No lead has been found in groundwater testing after the 2015 cleanup. Groundwater testing is no longer required at this site.
The next periodic review will be in about five years.
Site Background
The Sound Battery (aka Allied Battery Co, Inc. Tacoma) cleanup site is located at 2310 East 11th Street in Tacoma. The site is zoned for industrial use and is currently owned by the Port of Tacoma.
This site operated as a lead battery manufacturing facility dating back to 1946. Business operations released lead into soil. During this time, the site had a building that served as a manufacturing facility, as well as paved and gravel parking lots.
Environmental investigations to understand the extent of lead contamination at this site began in 1989. Four monitoring wells are located on the site that were used to check levels of lead in groundwater. In 2002, about 880 tons of shallow contaminated soil was excavated from areas around the site building footprint and adjacent properties. Following this, Ecology considered the cleanup complete.
In 2011, EnCo Environmental Corporation (EnCo) investigated soil and groundwater at the site to support a potential real estate transaction. EnCo found levels of lead that were above state cleanup levels in soil and groundwater.
Because of this new information, the site owners entered Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. After receiving advice from Ecology on how to clean up the site, cleanup work began in 2014. Cleanup included demolishing the site building, removing pavement, and excavating about 277 tons of contaminated soil from those areas. Between 2000 and 2015, a total of approximately 1,200 tons of contaminated soil was removed from the site and adjacent properties. However, soil contamination remains at the site at concentrations above cleanup levels for unrestricted land use.
In 2017, an environmental covenant was recorded for the site which limits land use to industrial uses only, prohibits installation of a water supply well, and requires maintenance of groundwater monitoring wells. Following this, Ecology determined that no more cleanup was necessary at the site.
The Port of Tacoma bought the site in 2018, and their tenant uses it as storage for semi-trailers.
Voluntary Cleanup Program
This site was cleaned up under our Voluntary Cleanup Program, which provides technical help to owners of contaminated sites.
Voluntary Cleanup Program customers pay fees to cover our costs for technical help and reviewing cleanup reports. Sites in this program must meet the same cleanup standards as the sites Ecology manages under legal orders.
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.
Institutional Controls 1
Environmental Covenant
Restrictions/Requirements
- Maintain/Protect Monitoring System
- Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
- Restrict Land Use
Restricted Media
- Groundwater
Documents 14
Legal 3
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Recorded Env. Covenant | 2/3/2017 | Environmental Covenant; Alternative Mechanism |
| Sound Battery Aka Allied Enforcement Order 97TC-S137 | 6/12/1997 | Enforcement Order |
| Sound Battery Aka Allied Enforcement Order 90-S315 | 1/5/1991 | Enforcement Order |
Outreach Information 1
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Sound Battery delisting fact sheet | 12/21/2017 | Fact Sheet\Public Notices |
Technical Reports 9
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| Periodic Review: Sound Battery aka Allied Battery Co Inc Tacoma | 3/12/2025 | Periodic Review (5 Year) |
| 2022-10 Sound Battery Cov Letter | 10/24/2022 | Site Specific Administrative Document - Other (Administrative Correspondence) |
| Allied Battery CO Inc.Tacoma - Cover Letter and Groundwater Monitoring Reoprt | 2/4/2020 | Monitoring Report |
| 2022-10 Sound Battery Q3 GW monitoring report | 11/1/2019 | Monitoring Report |
| Long-term GW Monitoring Plan | 7/1/2016 | Monitoring Plan |
| Closure Report Sound Battery, Tacoma, WA | 7/27/2015 | Remedial Action Report |
| Sound Battery (Allied Battery) Cleanup Acton Plan | 6/24/2014 | Cleanup Action Plan |
| Remedial Investigation and Focused Feasibility Study, Sound Battery, Tacoma | 11/19/2013 | Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study Report |
| Sound Battery Near Surface Soil & Groundwater Investigation | 9/7/2011 | Remedial Action Report |
Voluntary Cleanup Program 1
| Document Title | Document Date | Document Type |
| 2017.10.23_SW1208_Sound (Allied) Battery Co. Inc._Site NFA with EC and GW Monitoring Plan | 10/23/2017 | VCP Opinion on Site Cleanup – NFA |
Places to see print documents
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Southwest Regional Office300 Desmond Dr SELacey, 98503-1274Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.
Contaminants 1
| Contaminant Type | Soil |
Groundwater |
Surface Water |
Air |
Sediment |
Bedrock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metals - Lead | RB | RB |
- S
- Suspected
- C
- Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
- B
- Below Cleanup Levels
- RA
- Remediated-Above
- RB
- Remediated-Below
- R
- Remediated