Public comment opens on Treoil site

The Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) is asking the public to comment on how to clean the Treoil Industries site, which has cost millions of dollars in environmental cleanup efforts due to oil runoff and other hazardous waste.

The Treoil site, on 34 acres just east of the bp Cherry Point refinery, had been used since the 1980s for small-scale industrial work such as tree oil processing and biodiesel production. For years, the site has been a threat to the environment due to oil runoff through wetlands that eventually reach the Strait of Georgia.

A 2017 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was unknown when the plant stopped producing tall oil products, a byproduct of wood pulp manufacturing, but that the refinery was “sitting idle and largely unmonitored for approximately 10 years.”

In 2000, the EPA investigated potential threats of oil leaks at the site before DOE issued a penalty. In 2017 and 2022, federal and state environmental agencies found multiple instances of oily residue leaking into the ground at the industrial site, hazardous substances breaking containment, improper storage and labeling of chemicals, and a lack of secondary containment and site security.

Those cleanup efforts by the EPA cost $4.3 million, with the agency removing nearly 200,000 gallons of hazardous waste and more than 3,500 tons of contaminated soil.

DOE issued a $900,000 fine in December 2023 against site owners Jagroop S. Gill and Campbell Land Corporation, and the EPA put a lien on the property to guarantee repayment on the millions spent cleaning the property, according to previous reporting by The Northern Light.

The state completed its remedial investigation, finding areas of soil contaminated with petroleum by-products, heavy metals and pentachlorophenol (a highly toxic wood preservative).

DOE has proposed to cover the contaminated soil with clean fill and impose restrictions on activities at the site. A public comment period on the contamination study, feasibility study and public participation plan opened March 24 and will close Tuesday, April 22. Comments can be made at go.ecology.wa.gov/treoil.

DOE will also host a hybrid open house to provide information to the public and answer questions 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2 at the Ferndale Public Library, 2125 Main Street. Those who want to attend the meeting virtually can register at bit.ly/43kv8lb.