Kaiser bucks state's role
Company ran its own cleanup effort, and earned state kudos; but formal talks under way now
Karen Dorn Steele - Staff writer
State regulators wanted to direct Kaiser Aluminum's groundwater cleanup at Trentwood in the mid-'90s, but backed off when Kaiser objected.
Instead, Kaiser was allowed to conduct a "voluntary" cleanup -- until now.
Washington Department of Ecology officials met with Kaiser managers in 1994, shortly before state scientists were due to release a report on high PCB levels in the Spokane River near Kaiser's plant.
In the Sept. 19 meeting, Ecology's Keith Stoffel argued for a state-directed cleanup on Kaiser's property, with a formal compliance schedule and an opportunity for public comment.
Kaiser officials balked at the suggestion, according to an Ecology memo written at the time.
Patrick Blau, Kaiser Trentwood environmental manager, and Paul Beveridge, a Seattle attorney for Kaiser, said a state-directed cleanup would be "too cumbersome" and would slow cleanup efforts, the memo written by Stoffel says.
"They both indicated they would prefer to continue their work as an independent cleanup," Stoffel's memo says.
Two months later, in December 1994, Stoffel sent Kaiser a notice that the state considered it liable under federal and state toxic cleanup laws for releasing PCB-laced oils and other pollutants at Trentwood.
"Ecology intends to negotiate an Agreed Order or Consent Decree with Kaiser and any (other parties) identified in the future," Stoffel's Dec. 9, 1994, letter says.
Ecology and Kaiser have only now begun to negotiate that cleanup order -- nearly seven years later.
Kaiser's cleanup has worked well without state orders, Blau said last week.
"We didn't want to get into lawyers. We just went ahead. Our results show we did the best thing," Blau said.
Kaiser won a 1996 Governor's Award for its pollution prevention efforts at Trentwood.
Ecology agrees Kaiser has done a good job in trying to solve its groundwater contamination problems, Stoffel said.
"Unlike many other companies, Kaiser is being proactive here. We have some discretion. In this case, they are doing the work without being beat up by us," he said.
But with PCBs threatening the river's health and a warning against eating fish from the upper Spokane River, it's time to get the public involved, said Tony Grover, Ecology's regional director.
"We know enough now about the health effects that it's time to pull the Kaiser site and the river into formal cleanup processes," Grover said.
Ecology and Kaiser are negotiating an agreement to finish the Trentwood cleanup. Kaiser will be asked to report back to Ecology on its remaining groundwater problems by June 1.
The company's proposed cleanup plan will be available for public review by late summer.
Meanwhile, Kaiser continues to remove remaining traces of PCBs from its production systems, Blau said.
"Our goal is to be essentially zero for discharges," he said. "I thought we were there in 2000, but we'll just have to keep working on this."