The Port of Ridgefield is taking the Union Pacific Railroad Co. to court over the cost to clean up what was once considered one of the most contaminated sites in Washington.
For nearly 30 years, a 24-acre portion of the port’s property along Lake River was home to Pacific Wood Treating. The company used the site to pressure-treat railroad ties and telephone poles with chemical agents that contaminated the land, the water and the silt beneath.
Union Pacific owned a 2-acre parcel on the site. Ever since Pacific Wood Treating declared bankruptcy and shut down in 1993, the port has worked with the state Department of Ecology to clean up the mess.
The port filed the suit on Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court, stating that the cost of investigating and cleaning up the site has reached, or will soon reach, about $90 million. Brent Grening, the port’s CEO, declined to comment on the situation.
“Yes we have filed a claim against Union Pacific Railroad Co.,” Grening said in an email to The Columbian. “It is the Port of Ridgefield’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.”
Port officials contend that Union Pacific is liable for attorney’s fees and costs associated with the cleanup. They’ve asked the court to determine how much the company should pay the port.
In the wake of Pacific Wood Treating’s departure, the Department of Ecology found numerous contaminants on the site. The list of hazardous substances includes: arsenic, petroleum hydrocarbons, dioxin, chromium and pentachlorophenol, a carcinogen known to harm vital organs, even after short-term exposure.
After more than two decades, the massive cleanup project is finally winding down to an end. In October, crews began dredging Lake River after excavating the bed of Carty Lake.
Grening expects the work on Lake River to wrap up this month. After that, crews will head up from the waterfront into the nearby residential area to investigate whether the contamination spread out that way.
Port officials have big plans for its waterfront property, in all a 43-acre stretch of open land known as Millers’ Landing. In a previous interview with The Columbian, Grening said the place is finally ready for development.
The port and the city of Ridgefield envision the land eventually becoming a bustling extension of downtown with new mixed commercial-residential development in the next several years.
Today, the port continues to market the property to real estate developers. The site will likely remain fairly quiet until the port finishes building a new overpass over the railroad tracks connecting Millers’ Landing to Pioneer Street, Grening said.
