State to dig up Darrington gas tanks buried 70 years ago

Published 11:13 pm Friday, March 27, 2009

DARRINGTON — Mayor Joyce Jones remembers holding her daddy’s hand as she gazed into the big hole being dug for the new filling station’s underground gas tanks. That was back in the waning days of the Great Depression. Now, nearly 70 years later, she’s curious to see that hole again.

If the money becomes available, the state Department of Ecology is set to remove 11 underground gasoline storage tanks at the east end of Darrington Street. After the tanks are gone, Ecology Department officials plan to test the groundwater and soil for contamination. The town’s drinking water wells are located south of the cleanup site.

Most likely the water system is not at risk, said Ecology Department official Russ Olsen. However, until the tanks are pumped and pulled out, there’s no way to know for sure, he said.

“With any site dating back to the 1950s or older, there is that potential of leakage from underground tanks,” Olsen said.

The cleanup will cost about $300,000, and the Ecology Department is looking for funding for the project. Meanwhile, the state is working to get it “shovel-ready,” he said.

It’s been years since a gas station operated on the property.

State documents show that the gas tanks were last registered with the state in 1986 and the site was abandoned in about 1997. A couple years later, the town declared the old gas station a derelict site and town crews tore down the building and removed the fuel pumps, Olsen said.

Darrington officials initially considered keeping the gas station site for a park or museum. However, the town lacked the money for development and the property was put on the block in a foreclosure sale. The new owner has been cooperative and is concerned about the environmental impact of the old underground storage tanks, Olsen said.

The state doesn’t normally clean up just any gas station. Most are historically abandoned sites, Olsen said. Darrington hasn’t dealt with a toxic cleanup before, but the town is not alone in having such a potential problem. There are many similar abandoned gas stations around the state.

“This will benefit the town of Darrington,” Olsen said. “We’ll get this out of the way and then the property can be used again.”

If the soil on the site is found to be contaminated with hazardous chemicals, the state plans to remove it and plug the hole with clean fill dirt, Olsen said

But before it’s filled in, the mayor will be out to take a look.

“When it was first dug, it looked like the Grand Canyon to me,” Jones said. “People in town are eager for the cleanup. It’s been an eyesore, but someday it should be an attractive corner.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.