Park Laundry Site Cleanup

The Park Laundry Site is located at 122 N Main Avenue. Dry cleaning operations on the property from 1965-1977 resulted in contamination of the soil and groundwater on the laundry property and surrounding Source Area. The property is currently covered in gravel and used for parking. The City of Ridgefield will start cleanup operations on the property and source area north of the site in 2024, using grant funding, to make it eligible for redevelopment.

Project Background

From about 1965 to 1977, the Park Laundry property was a laundry and dry cleaners. Since then, the building was removed.

Dry cleaners used tetrachloroethylene (PCE) as a solvent to clean soiled fabrics. During dry cleaning operations, PCE was released to the environment. Microbes in the environment can change PCE into trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chemicals. PCE and TCE contaminated soil and groundwater at the site. PCE and TCE are volatile chlorinated solvents (VOCs) that are hazardous to people’s health and the environment.

The Park Laundry property and the parcels on the north side of the property are the source area of contamination (see map). Concentrations of VOCs in soil, groundwater, and soil vapor are highest in the source area and need to be addressed under the state’s cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). The contamination has made the site ineligible for redevelopment.

The estimated cost of remediation at the site far exceeds the market value, thus private redevelopment was unlikely and public-sector intervention identified as necessary to make this vital Downtown property ready to be redeveloped. Due to its central location on Main Avenue, redevelopment of the property could play a critical role in downtown revitalization and job creation in the Downtown/Waterfront area.

The City of Ridgefield has applied for and been awarded over $2 million in grant funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology, as well as an additional $195,000 from the Washington Department of Commerce to complete cleanup at the site and make it eligible for redevelopment.

As a condition for receiving grant funding, the City of Ridgefield is entering into a legal settlement, called a consent decree, with the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). The settlement requires the city to acquire the parcel that is the source of contamination (the Park Laundry Property) and cleanup contamination at the site. Ecology held a comment period from August 10 to September 11, 2023, for public review of documents including Consent Decree DE 21768, draft Cleanup Action Plan, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Determination of Non-Significance, and Public Participation Plan. Ecology received two comments during the comment period, considered the comments and did not change the documents. The comments and Ecology's responses are available in the responsiveness summary.

Click to view full sizeCleanup Action Plan

Ecology’s plan is designed to clean up VOCs-contaminated soil and groundwater. The cleanup plan combines soil excavation and groundwater treatment to reduce the amount of contamination at the site. The plan includes a monitoring plan to make sure the cleanup is successful. Institutional controls will make sure the cleanup is effective in the long term.

Soil excavation and removal: The city will excavate about 1,000 square yards of contaminated soil to several depths below the surface. The engineering-design phase of the cleanup will determine the excavation area and depth more precisely. The excavated contaminated soil will be removed from the site and disposed of appropriately. Water collected from the excavations will be treated and properly disposed of. Removal of contaminated soil and water will reduce the source of groundwater contamination. Excavations will be filled with clean soil and the site returned to the original grade. Gravel or asphalt pavement will be used to cover the soil surface.

Groundwater treatment by bioremediation: A material that bioremediates groundwater contamination will be injected into the groundwater. The material includes microbes that naturally live in the soil and can breakdown the VOCs into non-hazardous compounds. The material also includes compounds that help speed-up microbial breakdown of VOCs.

Monitoring: Groundwater will be tested periodically to determine if the treatment is successful. If VOCs concentrations are not likely to decrease within a reasonable amount of time (like 20 years), then the groundwater will be treated again until monitoring results show the treatment is successful.

Institutional controls: The city will file an environmental covenant with the county. Among the covenant’s restrictions, it may limit land use and describe requirements for future development. With a covenant in place, Ecology reviews conditions at the site every five years.