Source: Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA), September 13, 2012
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
Kitsap County will contribute $48,000 to the cleanup of contaminated soils at Crownhill School in Bremerton, under an agreement signed this week by the county commissioners.
Bremerton School District has taken the lead role in the cleanup of the school property at 1500 Rocky Point Road and an adjacent property owned by Bremerton United Methodist Church. The area was contaminated with a mix of metals and petroleum chemicals when the site was used as a landfill for municipal and industrial wastes. The county once owned a portion of the site not connected with the landfill, officials say.
The county and school district disagree about whether the county is liable to pay some of the cleanup costs, but the $48,000 payment will help avoid costly litigation, according to the agreement signed by both parties.
The $48,000 is estimated to be one-third of the cost not covered by a state grant for removing soils from the site and completing studies on the extent of remaining contamination. The school district will seek a similar amount from the Navy, which reportedly dumped waste at the old landfill. If the Navy refuses to pay, the school district will be obligated to pay two-thirds, according to the agreement.
Consultants recently analyzed remaining soils for residual contamination. Those results, along with plans to complete the cleanup, should be made public within a few months, said Russ Olsen, site manager for the Washington Department of Ecology.