Cleanup begins of former Whitmarsh landfill near Anacortes

Work to clean up the Whitmarsh landfill site near Anacortes began this month.

The Whitmarsh landfill, also called the March Point landfill, began as an informal roadside dump site in the 1950s on the shore of Padilla Bay.

The 14-acre property became a health hazard and was closed in 1973.

In the past two decades, the state has found groundwater at the landfill contains heavy metals and other contaminants, triggering a cleanup.

The $10 million project includes leveling out the landfill and placing a geosynthetic clay liner atop it.

The project is being funded through settlement funds, private insurance and grants from the state Department of Ecology.

According to a Skagit County news release, those who live near the site can expect to see additional heavy trucks in the area transporting materials.

Because the landfill is located near a great blue heron nesting site, the city of Anacortes has put into place a Heron Management Plan to mitigate the work's impact on the herons.

Strider Construction is expected to finish the cleanup by October.

The Anacortes City Council also approved June 8 an agreement with Skagit County to allow contaminated water from the site to be discharged into the city's sewer system.

As part of the cleanup, contractors need to remove water from the site, Anacortes City Attorney Darcy Swetnam said, but the water is too contaminated to discharge directly into the Salish Sea.

"The (state) Department of Ecology has told them that they need to discharge directly to a sanitary sewer system," she said.

The agreement to use Anacortes' sewer system spans 600 days or until the project is completed.

The county will pay a fee based on each gallon discharged into the sewer system, a $100 monthly administrative fee and a $300 permit fee.

Anacortes City Councilmember T.J. Fantini said the water sent into the sewer system will represent about 10% of the plant's dry weather flow, and that the wastewater treatment plant manager has confirmed the city is well-positioned to begin accepting the water immediately.

The city can terminate the agreement at any time if the amount of water being sent into the sewer system exceeds the agreed-upon limits.

The only contaminant currently exceeding surface water standards is manganese, a naturally occurring trace mineral.

The Anacortes City Council approved the agreement unanimously.

"There's some misperception that our sewage treatment plant doesn't have enough capacity, but actually, on a regular day, it's just fine," Mayor Ryan Walters said.

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