Tulalip Landfill - Super Fund Sites on Waymarking.com

Tulalip Landfill is a 147-acre site located on North Ebey Island, within the boundaries of the Tulalip Indian Reservation near Marysville, Washington. The landfill is surrounded by Ebey Slough to the north and Steamboat Slough to the south. Surface water from these sloughs flows into northern Puget Sound, a federally designated national estuary that is a recognized habitat for shellfish and some endangered species, including salmon. The Tulalip Tribe leased land to the Seattle Disposal Company from 1964 to 1979. During that time, an estimated four million tons of commercial, industrial, and hospital waste were deposited in the landfill. In 1979, the landfill was closed. An estimated 7,800 people obtain their drinking water from private and municipal wells that are within four miles of the site. The nearest drinking water source is within one mile of the site.

Site Responsibility: This site is being addressed through federal and potentially responsible parties' actions.

Media Affected: Environmentally Sensitive Area, Groundwater
Groundwater, wetland water, and slough water were contaminated with heavy metals, including lead, copper, chromium, and cadmium in excess of both the EPA's maximum contaminant levels established under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the marine ambient water quality criteria established under the Clean Water Act. On-site leachate and pooled water contained elevated levels of heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including toluene and xylene, and semi-VOCs. In addition, leachate, pooled water, and slough samples were plagued by numerous strains of pathogens. Due to the infiltration of estuarine water that is rich in nutrients and dissolved oxygen, these pathogens were resistant to several antibiotics and could survive for years. Sensitive wetland areas, local fisheries, and wildlife inhabiting the Puget Sound area were threatened by contaminants at the site.


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Spring 2007 Update: Over the past five years, the Tulalip Tribe and EPA have been regularly monitoring the performance of the landfill and the landfill cap. To date, the landfill cap is performing as anticipated, and the only outstanding issues being worked on are surface maintenance issues regarding lawn mowing. The Tribe is interested in potential re-use of the surface of the cap and is in early discussions regarding the possibilities. As the cap was not designed to be load-bearing, no commercial or residential uses are anticipated.

Overall Site History: In March 1996, EPA issued an interim Record of Decision (ROD) addressing contamination on the site. The ROD was based on presumptive remedy guidance. The selected remedy consisted of placing a landfill cover system over the 147 acres of waste material. EPA issued the final ROD for the site in September 1998. It added the off-source remedy, land use controls, to the on-source remedy.

Initial site preparation and stabilization work began in 1997. Design activities were completed and construction began in May 1998. Construction of the cover system was completed in October 2000, and operation and maintenance will continue for thirty years. The site was deleted from the Superfund National Priorities List on September 18, 2002.

Over two hundred de minimis parties and most of the major parties settled and made payments for site cleanup. As part of the settlement, one major party for the site performed the cleanup work.

Superfund site is best viewed from the Cedar Grove Nature Trail on the opposite side of the Union Slough from the Tulalip Landfill. The landfill has been capped and looks like a large green grassy area.

ID: WAD980639256 Site Name: Tulalip Landfill Link to Site: [Web Link] Additional Parking: N 48° 01.847 W 122° 11.267

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/25/2011 The Pirate King visited it 07/01/2008 Princess Lisa visited it 01/14/2008 JoshJW visited it

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