Brownfields Update for the Pacific Northwest

This month, we revisit a Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) project.  Its goal is to prevent the formation of new Brownfield sites. The purpose of the County Troublesome Site Work Group is to detect warning signs of possible future contamination. Over the past two and a half years, the program has expanded beyond its beginnings as a pilot project in King County into a useful tool for other counties in the state.

Workgroups from Ecology and County Troublesome Sites staffs collaborate with communities that face a disproportionate or chronic risk of environmental contamination from non-compliant businesses and private individuals. The project can extend and organize regulatory resources to communities that lack adequate staff capacity to solve the problem.

It operates through a cooperative, collaborative arrangement among county, city, state and federal agency personnel.  The goals are to 1) attain environmental compliance from operational sites subject to multi-agency regulation; 2) maximize resources and efficiencies of governmental agencies; and 3) prevent Brownfields through early intervention at facilities likely to cause environmental contamination.  It is the only proactive Brownfields program funded by a State and Tribal Response Program grant.

In practice, the program begins with reports by inspectors from Ecology, county public works or a local fire department who have visited a facility for compliance-related reasons such as hazardous or solid waste or air quality. These inspectors share information on suspect conditions at these sites that may be in non-compliance with environmental regulations outside their areas of expertise and/or jurisdiction. Inspectors also will coordinate site visits to facilities of concern, helping to reduce the number of required follow-up inspections.

Ecology is setting up a secure website to facilitate interagency communication and allow inspectors to share information statewide. This tool was used successfully during the pilot program in King County.

The project also provides interagency training within counties and statewide to give inspectors additional knowledge of regulations in areas outside their primary responsibility.  Four statewide trainings have been held for members of all interagency teams covering these subjects:  Advanced Inspector Training; Investigative Interview Techniques; Stormwater Basics; and How to Designate Hazardous Waste.

Activity has increased markedly since the project’s inception in 2007 with the number of joint inspections, enforcement actions, interagency trainings and other project-related meetings doubling from 2008 to 2009.

The County Troublesome Site Work Group project has been expanded into Vancouver and Clark County, by coordinating environmental enforcement activities within an existing local network of agencies to form the Clark County Local Interagency Networking Committee.

Pierce County, which includes Tacoma, also has formed an interagency network through its Local Interagency Networking Quorum. A third group, the Northern Counties Interagency Enforcement Team, includes members from three smaller counties in Washington; Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish.

Future plans call for expansion of the project into the entire state. Spokane and Lewis Counties in Eastern Washington have already expressed interest and Ecology has plans to create interagency teams there next year. Other interested counties include Thurston, Grays Harbor, Kitsap and Yakima. Ecology hopes this project can eventually serve as a model to communities nationwide that are seeking methods of preventing the formation of new Brownfield sites.

For more information about the County Troublesome Site Work Group project, contact:

Sharon Huff, Coordinator, Interagency Networking Teams
Hazardous Waste & Toxics Reduction Program
Washington Department of Ecology
360-407-6357
Shuf461@ecy.wa.gov