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June 8, 2026 Whitmarsh Landfill Cleanup BeginsThe Skagit County Public Works Department has started work to remediate the Whitmarsh landfill site on March Point Drive near Padilla Bay. The Department contracted Strider Construction in 2025 and cleanup activities are ongoing. Nearby residents will see additional heavy trucks in the area transporting materials to the site. The cleanup is expected to be finished by October 2026. The landfill began as an unregulated dump site in the 1950s until the County took over operation as a disposal site through its closure in 1973. A sawmill operated on the site in the 1980s through 2011. In 2007, Skagit County was named as a Potentially Liable Party by the Washington State Department of Ecology for the site clean-up along with Shell Oil Company, Texaco Inc., and Washington State Department of Natural Resources. In 2017, a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study was completed that evaluated the nature and extent of the contamination onsite. In 2021, the Department of Ecology issued a consent decree in which Skagit County took responsibility for implementing the Cleanup Action Plan (CAP) developed for the site. The project is being funded through settlement funds, private insurance, and grants from the Department of Ecology. The Cleanup Action Plan (CAP) approved by the Department of Ecology includes regrading portions of the existing landfill, constructing an impermeable cap over the site, and installing stormwater control and surface drainage systems. The County will also restore the habitat along the nearby shoreline, and treat any groundwater removed from the site. The landfill is located near a great blue heron nesting site. A Heron Management Plan has been created and approved by the City of Anacortes to ensure project activities do not exceed allowable noise limits. Skagit County and the Department of Ecology have implemented monitoring and mitigation measures for the habitat area to ensure herons are not disturbed. More information on the history of the site and specific cleanup activities can be found on the Department of Ecology website here: https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/304 Questions about the project can be sent to Margo Gillaspy, Solid Waste Division Manager, at margog@co.skagit.wa.us. |
