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DuPont council hears soil contamination findings at heirloom orchard; staff to draft volunteer waiver and explore remediation
Summary
Council discussed soil testing showing elevated arsenic in parts of the historic heirloom orchard and other open spaces; staff recommended signage, a volunteer agreement and hiring an environmental consultant to define remediation steps such as adding and rototilling clean topsoil.
City staff and councilors discussed soil contamination near the Tomley (heirloom) orchard and other open spaces after staff reviewed Department of Ecology testing and an independent study. The mayor summarized that arsenic levels in some areas ranged from roughly 40 to 100 parts per million, above a Department of Ecology precautionary level of 20 parts per million for unprotected soil work.
The mayor said walking trails and asphalt‑covered areas are not considered hazardous for transient use, but digging and gardening can increase exposure. "In order to be considered clean for humans to be out working in the soil, it needs to be less than 20 parts per million of arsenic," the mayor said. Staff recommended signage at Powder Works Park and other open areas where tests showed elevated levels. The mayor described two remediation approaches discussed with ecology staff: a more disruptive scraping/removal method (used historically at other sites) or importing clean topsoil and rototilling it into place to reduce surface concentration. He said the latter is feasible for less‑severe contamination but can be labor intensive in areas where heavy equipment cannot operate.
Legal staff (Gordon) said volunteers working in affected areas should sign an explicit waiver and follow personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols; the city must also check Department of Ecology requirements and report volunteer hours to L&I when required. "There would have to be a separate waiver making them understand the risk they were taking and also that they would agree to engage in whatever PPE or procedures we demanded of them," Gordon said. Council members urged preserving the orchard where possible and asked staff to estimate costs for remediating actively used facilities such as the dog park. The mayor said staff will bring guidance back in the spring, and that one option—if no local volunteers are available—would be to offer the small trees to a neighboring orchard group that has expressed interest.
No formal decisions were made; staff were asked to draft a volunteer agreement, pursue technical guidance from an environmental consultant to determine remediation depths and methods, and to bring options and cost estimates back to council in the spring.
