EPA RCRA ID: WAD053823019
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
The former J.H. Baxter wood-treating facility site is identified by the EPA ID No. WAD053823019, and by the State of Washington Department of Ecology Facility Site ID No. 2709 and Cleanup Site ID No. 4768.
The site is currently operated by McFarland Cascade Holdings, Inc. (a Stella-Jones Company), and uses pentachlorophenol (PCP) as the primary wood treatment chemical. The site is being cleaned up due to past releases of PCP into the soil and groundwater.
Facility History
The site is generally discussed as four distinct areas:
- Parcel A
- Parcel B
- Closed Woodwaste Landfill
- Northwest Parcel
Parcel A is approximately 17 acres and includes the Main Treatment Area, where wood is treated, and the Treated Pole Storage Area, where treated poles are stored. Pole treating has been conducted in this area since the middle to late 1960s. Baxter purchased this parcel in 1970 and has continued wood-treating operations in this area.
Parcel B is approximately 28 acres and includes the area south of Parcel A where untreated poles are peeled (if necessary) and stored. It was purchased by Baxter in the early 1970s and had no prior industrial usage.
The Closed Woodwaste Landfill is 5.83 acres with the landfill footprint occupying 4.7 acres. The landfill was used for disposal of bark and wood shavings from pole-peeling operations. In the early 1990s, the landfill was capped with clean soil and certified as closed as a monofill landfill by the Snohomish County Health District. A stormwater retention pond on the southwestern corner of the parcel collects runoff from the landfill cap.
The Northwest Parcel is a 5-acre property purchased by Baxter in 2003 in the northwestern portion of the facility. The parcel is zoned industrial and houses a small office building and storage building. This parcel was sold to Yacht Properties in 2016, although Baxter retains access to the groundwater monitoring wells located on the property.
Past Investigation and Cleanup Activities
Numerous investigations and remedial activities have been completed at the facility starting in the 1990s. Comprehensive background information regarding the facility’s history and the nature and extent of chemicals of interest in soil and groundwater can be obtained by contacting the EPA project manager.
Current and Future Work
A pilot study is being conducted at the facility to evaluate the performance of an enhanced biodegradation recirculation system with passive light non-aqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) recovery to achieve cleanup. The system was commissioned on January 31, 2008, and has been operating ever since.
EPA and Baxter began a series of technical discussions in May 2021 to consider additional work to further characterize contamination at the site and assess additional potential cleanup options. The additional work is anticipated to begin in Spring 2022. Remedy selection is anticipated for mid-2023.
Cleanup actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The former J.H. Baxter wood-treating facility is a wood preserving operation that occupies approximately 57 acres. Its primary business is the manufacture and preservation of telephone poles and other wood products. The facility is in Arlington, Washington, at 6520 188th Street NE.
The facility imports raw logs and processes them into utility poles. Processing activities include debarking, trimming, marking, seasoning, and treatment. The finished products are shipped to utilities and other users by truck or rail.
On February 28, 2007, Baxter entered into an agreement with Stella-Jones Corporation (Stella-Jones), in which Stella-Jones has leased Parcels A and B of the facility and has assumed operation of the wood-treating facility. Baxter retains ownership of the property and buildings. Baxter also retains control of all remediation work related to the area of concern.
Contaminants at this Facility
The primary contaminant of concern at the site is pentachlorophenol (PCP), an industrial wood preservative used mainly to treat utility poles and cross arms. Other known contaminants of concern include residual light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and diesel range organics.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The need for institutional or engineering controls will be determined later in the process.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
|||
|
Governmental Controls (GC) |
||||
|
Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
||||
| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
|
Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
|||
|
Non-Groundwater |
||||
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services.
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services.
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data.
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites.
Site Documents
Contacts for this Facility
Brett Feldhahn (feldhahn.brett@epa.gov), Project Manager, 206-553-2899.