The Department of Ecology is seeking public comment on a set of proposed projects that would continue an ongoing process to clean up contamination at the former Barbee Mill site in Renton.

Ecology and Barbee Mill Co., Inc. (Barbee Mill) have negotiated amendments to a 2009 legal agreement, called an agreed order, under which the company has carried out several steps that build on earlier work performed under the ecology department’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, according to an ecology department press release.

A lumber mill – and at times, ship-building – occupied the 22-acre site at 4101 Lake Washington Blvd. N. until 2006. The property had undergone redevelopment as a residential community.

Barbee Mill has previously conducted studies of soil, groundwater and nearby lake sediments.  The company’s past cleanup actions include removed soil contaminated with petroleum products, arsenic, zinc and wood preservative; installed a below-grade barrier that filters arsenic from groundwater that moves toward the lake; operated a system to extract and treat groundwater contaminated with metals; and removed wood debris and other material from the lake bottom, just offshore.

The company also has filed deed restrictions to permanently protect and properly operate environmental controls that have been or will be installed.

The amended order continues ongoing interim cleanup activities identified in the original order.  These include: addition of a gravel layer to a stormwater detention pond now lined with sand; a study on information still needed about contamination in the lake-bottom sediments; sampling of wells to monitor groundwater flowing off the site and evaluate the groundwater treatment system; reports that provide additional needed data and evaluations.

These efforts are considered “interim action” and are not the final cleanup.

The new amendments to the order include plans for Barbee Mill to gather more data, evaluate cleanup options and develop a final cleanup plan.  Ecology will seek public comment in the future before approving the site’s final cleanup plan.

The draft amended agreed order is available at:

• https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/gsp/Sitepage.aspx?csid=2368

• Renton Public Library, 100 Mill Ave. S.

• Department of Ecology, Northwest Region – by appointment only, 425-649-7190 – 3190160th Ave. SE, Bellevue

Comments or questions may be directed to Ching-Pi Wang, Ecology site manager, 425-649-7134; email cwan461@ecy.wa.gov.  The comment period ends on April 2.

A fact sheet (PDF 1.5M) with further background on the Barbee Mill site and the amended order is available online.