April 4, 2000

Cleanup plan set for huge Renton site

Journal staff

RENTON - The state Dept. of Ecology and Paul Allen's Port Quendall Co. are taking public comment on cleanup plans for the J.H. Baxter site on the Lake Washington shore in Renton. A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on April 20 at the Renton Senior Activities Center, 211 Burnett Ave. in Renton. The public comment period ends May 8. This comment period addresses cleanup plans only.

A wood treatment plant operated on the site from 1955 until it closed in1982. With the cleanup, Port Quendall Co. intends to buy the land from J.H. Baxter for residential and commercial development. The permitting process with public comment opportunities will occur at the time of development.

An environmental investigation found creosote and pentachlorophenol related to the wood-preserving operations at the site. The North Property (northern two-thirds) requires no further action if a clean soil cover or other controls are placed on the property. The South Property (southern third) contains contamination that coincides with the approximate locations of the former operations. Creosote and pentachlorophenol from past activities have been found in ground water and adjacent sediments.

As part of redevelopment, Port Quendall Co. will place a cap of clean soil and institutional controls on the North Property. On the South Property, it will excavate and/or stabilize contaminated soils, excavate contaminated sediments, monitor ground water to ensure compliance with cleanup levels, place a cap of clean soils and use institutional controls. Excavation of contaminated soil will remove the source of the contamination to the ground water. Also on the South Property, cleanup and mitigation measures include removing two wetlands with contaminated sediments and reconstructing a single shoreline wetland with a 50-foot buffer.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen had proposed redeveloping the Baxter site and two others into

a major project including 1 million square feet of offices two years ago, but backed away because of the cost of cleanup. Allen recently expressed renewed interest in cleanup of the site.