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County to pursue Ecology remedial‑action grant to study bioaugmentation at Colbert Landfill
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Summary
Solid‑waste staff told commissioners they will apply for a Department of Ecology remedial‑action grant (application due March 17) to fund field studies and data collection needed to consider bioaugmentation/bio‑stimulation as a cleanup path at the Colbert Landfill; grant request is $168,000 with an estimated 50% reimbursement (net county cost roughly $84,000).
Austin Stewart, project manager in the county’s solid‑waste/landfill closure program, asked the board to authorize pursuing a Department of Ecology remedial‑action grant to develop the lines of evidence needed to move from monitoring to active bioremediation at the Colbert Landfill.
Stewart summarized the site history: the landfill operated from 1968 to 1986, and between roughly 1975 and 1980 chlorinated solvents and volatile organic compounds were disposed there by outside parties, infiltration occurred because the cell lacked a bottom liner, and contamination migrated into underlying aquifers. A pump‑and‑treat system operated from 1994 until a 2014 shutdown and monitoring since has shown increasing concentrations in some wells, indicating pump‑and‑treat did not fully resolve source‑area contamination.
"This grant project is ... to go out and collect these lines of evidence and everything that we need to know exactly how to move forward with this remediation process," Stewart said. He described the Department of Ecology grant as a two‑phase project: phase 1 funds monitoring equipment and supplies; phase 2 funds groundwater sampling and laboratory analyses. Stewart said the requested grant amount is $168,000; with Ecology’s usual 50% reimbursement of eligible items, the county’s net cost would be roughly $84,000 (further reduced by including county labor that is already part of normal operations).
Stewart walked commissioners through remediation options — monitored natural attenuation (current approach), biostimulation, and bioaugmentation — and said the latter options would require robust lines of evidence and regulatory acceptance (EPA and Ecology) before proceeding. Commissioners asked about cost projections, the funding account for landfill closure (noting it has been drawing down), and whether the pump‑and‑treat would be used alongside injected bacteria; Stewart said a pump system could be a fail‑safe but might interfere with injected bacterial colonies and the amendment materials used for bioaugmentation.
Why it matters: the site is a hazardous‑waste cleanup with long‑term operational and monitoring costs; exploring targeted approaches could reduce future operations and maintenance costs and improve remediation outcomes.
Next steps: commissioners recorded approval to apply for the Ecology grant and staff will submit the application by the stated March 17 due date.
