LAKEWOOD SITE WASHINGTON EPA ID# WAD050075662

EPA Region 10 Pierce County Lakewood 9th Congressional District Other Names: Lakewood Water District Site, Ponder's Corner, Plaza Cleaners

Last Update: April, 2010

Site Description

The Lakewood site is located in Lakewood, Washington and includes property upon which a commercial dry-cleaning business known as Plaza Cleaners has operated for several years. The regional aquifer contains a groundwater plume extending approximately 2,000-feet downgradient of Plaza Cleaners. The surrounding area is predominantly residential and commercial/light industrial. Lakewood Water District has two of its production wells on a fenced site, approximately 800 feet south of Plaza Cleaners. Sampling of drinking water wells in the area indicated that the two city wells were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs): trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and cis-1,2 dichloroethylene (cis-1,2 DCE). The source of the contamination was determined to be Plaza Cleaners.

Site Responsibility: This site is being addressed through state and federal actions. The state is the lead for operations and maintenance (O&M) responsibilities at the site. The WA State Department of Ecology, on behalf of the State, is conducting O&M of the air stripping facility and existing groundwater monitoring wells. The EPA is responsible for conducting five-year reviews for this site.

NPL Listing History	Dates
Proposed Date:	12/30/1982
Removed Date:
Withdrawal Date:
Final Date:	09/08/1983
Deleted Date:

Threats and Contaminants

Media Affected: Groundwater, Soil & Sludges
The solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were detected in groundwater and soil. Potential health risks existed for individuals accidentally ingesting or coming into direct contact with contaminated groundwater and soil.


Cleanup Progress

Plaza Cleaners signed a state Consent Order in September, 1983. Cleanup activities included removing the contents of the septic tanks and disposing of the material in a permitted, off-site landfill; backfilling the area with clean material; installing a soil vapor extraction system to remove soil contamination which had migrated beyond the septic tanks into a drainfield; and removing highly contaminated sludge found far below one of the septic tanks. Cleanup standards set for the contaminants found in the soil and sludge have been achieved at the site.

On September 27, 1996, EPA announced, in the Federal Register, its intent to delete the soil unit of the Lakewood site from the National Priorities List (NPL). The soil unit proposed for deletion included all contaminated soil/sludge related to the site. On November 27, 1996, EPA announced, in the Federal Register, the partial deletion of the Lakewood site "soil unit" from the NPL, effective November 27, 1996. On September 24, 2007 EPA completed the fourth 5 Year Review for the site.

Remediation of the groundwater is currently on-going under a long term response action as cleanup goals have not yet been achieved.


Regional Contacts

SITE MANAGER(S):	Chris Cora
E-MAIL ADDRESS:	cora.christopher@epa.gov
PHONE NUMBER:	206-553-1478
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR:	Jeanne O'dell
E-MAIL ADDRESS	odell.jeanne@epa.gov
PHONE NUMBER:	206-553-6919

Information pertaining to this site is housed at the following location(s):
Pierce County Library (Administrative Record)
Lakewood Branch
6300 Wildaire Road Southwest
Tacoma, WA 98499

Tacoma Public Library (Administrative Record)
1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Tacoma, WA 98402