Five Corners' neighbors say Vancouver developer too slow cleaning up contaminated site
Neighbors of a brownfield owned by Kirkland Development Group say the company's cleanup is taking too long and letting contaminated soil blow onto their land.
The 10-acre parcel north of Five Corners has lingering halogenated organic compounds, specifically polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.
Clark County has seven brownfield sites that have received public funding through a Washington State Department of Ecology program. Brownfields are previously developed properties that are now abandoned, underused or idle. The presence of hazardous materials and pollutants on the properties makes them difficult to redevelop.
In 2020, PBS Engineering and Environmental (now Apex) completed a remedial investigation and interim work plan for the cleanup effort. The firm found concentrations of PCBs in the soil that exceed the state's Model Toxics Control Act limits at depths up to 5.5 feet, according to the report.
The cleanup process is simple but not necessarily easy. All of the nearly 10 acres of contaminated soil will have to be dug up and removed from the site. Kirkland received $200,000 from Ecology's brownfields program to help pay some of the costs. The company's owner, Dean Kirkland, said he plans to develop the property as a storage facility for recreational vehicles once the cleanup is finished.
A house and several outbuildings were constructed on the property in the early 1940s. Between 1945 and 1955, a second residence was added to the property, and the outbuildings were removed. Fill material, reportedly from the former Boise Cascade Mill in Vancouver, was placed on the site beginning in 1970, "possibly in conjunction with the operation of the then-owner's fertilizer processing business," according to the PBS Engineering and Environmental report.
Kirkland purchased the property in 2018. That same year, the property was enrolled in Ecology's voluntary cleanup program to begin the cleanup efforts needed for development.
The state agency does not monitor or track cleanups conducted as part of the voluntary program.
"The property owner or potentially liable person conducts the cleanup with a licensed professional - geologist, hydrogeologist or engineer," said Cheryl Ann Bishop, communications manager for Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program. "We do provide informal advice and assistance on the administrative and technical requirements of our state environmental cleanup law and written opinions on their reported independent remedial actions when requested."
Much of the contaminated soil, to a depth of about 2 feet, has been dug up and now rests in large piles along the northwest edge of the Kirkland property. Although the piles have been covered with a reinforced membrane, neighbors say the wind blows contaminated soil across the street and onto their properties. This has been an issue for Waste Connections of Washington's transfer station on Northeast 94th Avenue, which borders the Kirkland property.
"When it's windy, we get some of it blowing on our facility. We actually tried to buy it - very recently - to clean it up and expand, but the deal fell through," Waste Connections spokesperson Josh Brown said.
Kirkland did not have an estimated date for when the cleanup would be complete.
Shari Phiel: shari.phiel@columbian.com; 360-562-6317; @Shari_Phiel
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 7:15 AM.